McConaughey: A shape-shifter
In series of films, actor transforms image, body, career
A decade ago, few would have predicted that Matthew McConaughey would become one of the most fascinating actors to watch in Hollywood. But the man had a plan, and McConaughey methodically transformed his career, not only rehabbing his image, but literally reshaping his body along the way.
Three years after winning an Oscar for playing an entrepreneurial HIV patient in “Dallas Buyers Club,” McConaughey heads to the opposite extreme, packing on the pounds to play a balding precious metal prospector in “Gold” (in theaters Friday). In honor of his latest transformation, we look back at the actor’s most impressive shape-shifting.
FOOL’S GOLD (2008) How far has McConaughey been willing to morph from his genetically blessed looks? It’s important to remember how far he has come. Less than a decade ago, the actor was at peak beefcake in “Fool’s Gold,” one of many critically panned romcoms (just 11% of reviewers liked it, according to Rotten Tomatoes), in which he sported his signature blond locks, eight-pack abs and a deep California tan. It made money, but his street cred was tanking. Roughly two years later, McConaughey would take a cinematic timeout to rejigger his career.
MAGIC MIKE (2012) McConaughey started saying no to film offers. “If anything, I wanted to un-brand a little bit,” he told USA TODAY. “Become a little more of an ambiguous brand. I didn’t know what it was going to be.” “Magic Mike” was among the first films McConaughey said yes to, determined to take more risks. In this transition period, he played the charismatic, darkly intentioned club owner Dallas in Channing Tatum’s semi-autobiographical male stripper film with Steven Soderbergh and also starred in arthouse movies like “Killer Joe,” “Bernie” and “Mud.” Critics began to take notice of the so-called “McConaissance.”
DALLAS BUYERS CLUB (2013) When photos surfaced of a gaunt McConaughey in 2012, fans were shocked by his shrunken appearance. He ultimately lost almost 50 pounds for the role of Ron Woodroof, a brash, homophobic Texas cowboy who contracted HIV in 1985 and was told he had 30 days to live. Woodroof became an unlikely hero for the gay community, sourcing antiviral drugs and life-extending experimental treatments for HIVpositive patients. McConaughey’s commitment to the role won him a best actor Oscar in 2014.
TRUE DETECTIVE (2014) The actor set his sights on television, starring opposite Woody Harrelson in HBO’s “True Detective” as a troubled, fringe Louisiana detective tracking a serial killer. “I’d never done TV before, but I was also conscious of that sort of wall that . . . has kind of been broken,” he told USA TODAY at the time. “And you watch TV now and there’s some episodes where you go, ‘That’s better drama than I’m reading in scripts or I’m seeing in film.’ ” The role earned him Emmy and Golden Globe nominations.
FREE STATE OF JONES (2016) Last year, McConaughey turned into a scraggly Confederate deserter in “Free State of Jones,” a period drama set during the Civil War. The transformation here was less drastic, but the actor was gearing up to undergo another massive change.
GOLD (2017) Vanity, begone! The actor let out his belt for “Gold,” packing on more than 40 pounds, adding prosthetic crooked teeth and shaving his head to wear a balding toupee as Kenny Wells, a Reno prospector who finds a gold mine in the Indonesian jungle in the late ’80s. The film is based on a true story. “I was an all-star in my family, nicknamed Captain Fun,” McConaughey told CNN. “Because I was yes to pizza night, every night.”