Matthew McConaughey conjures shape-shifting ‘Gold’
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).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 rom-coms (just 11% of reviewers liked it, according to Rotten Tomatoes), in which he sported his signature blond locks, eightpack 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, dark-intentioned club owner Dallas in Channing Tatum’s semi-autobiographical male stripper film with Steven
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 HIV-positive patients. McConaughey’s commitment to the role won him a best actor Oscar in 2014.
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.”