Alright, alright, alright, the news broke out. The Oscar winner and professional
Texan has been flirting with the idea of running for governor for months now.
Is this a joke? Apparently, not. Reportedly, Matthew McConaughey has been “making some calls.”
This is a serious move for the guy who was once arrested after beating the bongos butt-naked.
Of course, he’s not the first Hollywood celebrity to try his shoes in politics. And some of them
were pretty successful. But does Matthew have what it takes? Tune in to learn more about his
turbulent childhood, his arrest, his quirky nature as a stoner-philosopher and his “careful” views on
important matters. We’ve got all the details for you on the future Gov. McConaughey.
Before we get into the Hollywood star’s aspirations regarding politics, let us dig
a little deeper into his personal life. His memoir of sorts, Greenlights, will help. Even though our
past can’t define our future, it certainly has an influence. And, oh, boy, was it messed up.
“I am the youngest brother of three and the son of parents who were twice-divorced and
thrice-married, to each other,” the future film star wrote in his memoir.
The first few pages would be hard to read. That’s where McConaughey revealed that he was
blackmailed into having sex for the first time when he was just 15 years old. Not only that,
but when he was 18, he was molested “while knocked unconscious in the back of a van.”
It must’ve been horrifying for the young boy. To make matters worse, his parents had a very
toxic relationship. He recalled one night when his mom allegedly broke his dad’s nose and held
up a knife at him. After the fight, they had sex. Sadly, violence is how his parents communicated,
how they loved each other, and how they loved their kids. McConaughey recalled his dad
hitting him in the face for stealing pizza. James once even attempted to sue a company
that produced an oil product that gave his son acne for “emotional distress”. Unsurprisingly,
he lost the case due to Matthew’s “Most Handsome” yearbook win.
After a complicated childhood, he got his big break in the 1993 film Dazed and
Confused. And that’s where his now-iconic “Alright, alright, alright” line was born.
Now, these words follow him everywhere. People wear them on their hats and T-shirts and even
tattooed on their arms and inner thighs. He then starred in a series of romcoms,
including The Wedding Planner, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days and Fool’s Gold. The actor enjoyed
making them, and their pay cheques rented the houses on the beach he ran shirtless on.
The romcoms also led to all of his Hollywood romances. And after dating
stars like Sandra Bullock and Penélope Cruz, McConaughey became a gossip column staple.
But nothing beats his appearance in the New York Daily News about his drinking
and dancing in Nicaragua. The best part? He lost a flip-flop during all the fun and told
the paper that he offered up a REWARD for it. So, if you have Matthew McConaughey’s
flip-flop from 13 years ago, please return it. Eventually, he grew tired of romancing stars and
making romantic comedies. During the fall of 2008, the Interstellar actor called his
agent and said he was done. He even had to turn down a whopping $14.5 million. “If I
couldn’t do what I wanted, I wasn’t going to do what I didn’t, no matter the price,” he said.
The same year he met his wife. They fell in love while McConaughey lived in Australia
filming Fool’s Gold. The dashing actor had, quote, “seriously dated some wonderful women in my life,
many of whom I am still friends with,” but ultimately, they were all stops, no stays.
Once Matthew realized he needed to stop looking, then she came.
He popped the question after their eldest son asked why his mom’s last name wasn’t McConaughey.
Not long after he came back to acting,
Time Magazine included the Magic Mike star in the 100 most influential people in the world.
McConaughey demonstrated his influence when he starred in a series of ads for Lincoln cars.
The actor increased sales by 25 per cent within a month after the ads debuted.
Hey, we’ve seen those commercials. If we could afford one, we’d have bought a Lincoln too.
At the end of his book, McConaughey explained he had a list of 10 goals from 1992
and revealed he had accomplished three big ones, including “become a father, find and
keep the woman, win an Oscar for best actor.” So, is his desire to enter politics on the list?
Who knows. What we do know is that a few years back, a candidate might’ve been destroyed by
having a record. McConaughey, though, has a charm that makes such shenanigans forgivable.
The Dazed and Confused alum was arrested for marijuana possession 20 years back. The
police were called to his home following a noise complaint. Seemingly, an innocent incident. Well,
sort of. When they got there, the actor was playing bongo drums fully naked.
When they asked him to put on pants, he refused. He must’ve had a really good reason.
Upon his release from jail, McConaughey said, “I don’t want to rent a place there, but it was a
nice stay for a night.” This incident glorified him in pop culture as the archetypal stoner.
Did he give up the drums after this embarrassing run-in with the law?
Hell no. “Of course, I still play the congas naked,” he told GQ. “I just close the windows.”
Well, that’s smart on Matthew McConaughey’s part. For now, his past doesn’t seem to be a problem. It
turns out the 51-year-old hinted at the idea before. When asked last November whether he
would consider a bid, he responded all vaguely, “It would be up to the people
more than it would be to me.” He called politics a “broken business” and said he might be interested
when it “redefines its purpose”. As we can see, Matthew is looking
into it again. And he did more than alright, alright, alright in a new poll.
Yep, he won over incumbent Greg Abbott in a hypothetical match-up. After all, Gov. McConaughey
might not be the actor’s wildest dream. In the US, entertainment often bleeds
into politics. Reagan, Schwarzenegger, Ventura. And, of course, when Donald
Trump ran for the White House in 2016, he owed his fame to a reality TV hit, The Apprentice.
As it happens, the Beach Bum star isn’t the only celebrity who’s been recently eyeing political
office. Dwayne Johnson has been floating a presidential run for several years now.
Meanwhile, Caitlyn Jenner is reportedly considering a run for California governor.
Reagan, Schwarzenegger and Trump ran as Republicans.
McConaughey’s views are mostly a mystery. That’s probably why Howard Stern, “King of All Media,”
warns both The Rock and Matthew that seeking political office can be a losing game.
“They don’t understand; once you run for office, you actually have to give an opinion,” Stern said.
And yes, The Wolf of Wall Street star’s political affiliation is unknown.
Fans online are speculating left and right. While there is no clear indication
of which side he falls on, his past comments on hot-button issues can offer some clarity.
When asked about defunding the police, McConaughey gave a careful response on how he would try
to improve relations between police and the community. The actor said his life practice
was to meet in the middle and compromise. He also called firearm violence an epidemic and
said he supports some gun control measures, adding, “The two sides have got to talk.”
In early 2020, the actor filmed pro-mask public service announcements and interviewed Dr Anthony
Fauci on Instagram. In the interview, he touched on the possible message of
a hypothetical campaign. And it wasn’t “Make America all right, all right, all right again”,
many of his fans joked about, but a more serious “meet me in the middle – I dare you”.
The message follows the same philosophy as his bestselling autobiography:
“When facing any crisis, I’ve found that a good plan is first to recognize the problem,
then stabilize the situation, organize the response, then respond.”
Though, finding time for politics might prove challenging even for an untiring multitasker like
McConaughey. To say nothing of what he considers his most important role: “I have three epics in
my life, and that’s my three children. That’s the greatest light or shadow that I can leave — as a
father.” Of course, some people do enter politics to help make the world better for their kids.
How do you feel about yet another Hollywood star entering politics?
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