Matthew McConaughey

A laid-back actor who stood out from Hollywood stereotypes with his down-to-earth charm and fun-loving lifestyle, Matthew McConaughey used his solid work ethic to carve out a robust career marked with a number of quality performances.. McConaughey made his first impression early on as an older guy who hangs out with high school kids in Richard Linklater's stoner comedy "Dazed and Confused" (1993), and went on to supporting turns in "Angels in the Outfield" (1994) and "Boys on the Side" (1995). He delivered a hailed performance as a small town deputy in John Sayles' indie drama "Lone Star" (1996), before graduating to large scale studio films like "Amistad" (1997), "Contact" (1997) and "EDtv" (1999). Also in 1999, McConaughey made headlines for his comical arrest for disturbing the peace and possession of cannabis: he was found in his home loudly playing bongos naked late in the night. While accepting the subsequent ridicule, McConaughey starred in one of his more popular films, "The Wedding Planner" (2001), and followed up with a darker turn in the serial killer thriller "Frailty" (2002). After a pair of disappointing showings with "Sahara" (2005) and "We are Marshall" (2008), McConaughey received some of the best notices of his career as "The Lincoln Lawyer" (2011), a film that began a rebound some wags dubbed "the McConnaisance," which culminated in a Best Actor Oscar for his role in "Dallas Buyers Club" (2013), a memorable supporting role in Martin Scorsese's "The Wolf of Wall Street" (2013), the lead role in Christopher Nolan's questioning science fiction drama "Interstellar" (2014), and a critically-acclaimed role as a philosophical policeman in the first season of the cable drama "True Detective" (HBO 2014- ). Having navigated the peaks and valleys of his career, McConaughey always exhibited a humility and exuberant spirit that was contagious both on and off screen.