Bryce Dallas Howard (as Kay) and Matthew McConaughey (as Kenny Wells) co-star in ‘Gold.’(Photo: Lewis Jacobs)
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.
Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey, who starred in 2003’s ‘How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days,’ reunited in 2008’s ‘?Fool?’s Gold.’ (Photo: Vince Valitutti, Warner Bros. Entertainment)
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 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[1], 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.
Matthew McConaughey was ripped for ‘Magic Mike.’ (Photo: Claudette Barius, AP)
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 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.”
Jared Leto, left, and Matthew McConaughey in ‘Dallas Buyers Club.’ Both won Oscars for their work in the film. (Photo: Anne Marie Fox, Focus Features)
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[2], 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.
Matthew McConaughey, left, and Woody Harrelson in Season 1 of HBO’s ‘True Detective.’ (Photo: Michele K. Short, AP)
TRUE DETECTIVE (2014)
The actor set his sights on television[3], 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.
Matthew McConaughey played a Confederate deserter in the Civil War drama ‘Free State of Jones.’ (Photo: STX Entertainment)
FREE STATE OF JONES (2016)
Last year, McConaughey turned into a scraggly Confederate deserter[4] 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.
Matthew McConaughey packed on the pounds for ‘Gold.’ (Photo: Lewis Jacobs)
GOLD (2017)
Vanity, begone! The actor let out his belt for Gold[5], 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[6]. “Because I was yes to pizza night, every night.”
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References
- ^ just 11% of reviewers liked it (www.rottentomatoes.com)
- ^ He ultimately lost almost 50 pounds for the role of Ron Woodroof (rssfeeds.usatoday.com)
- ^ The actor set his sights on television (rssfeeds.usatoday.com)
- ^ McConaughey turned into a scraggly Confederate deserter (rssfeeds.usatoday.com)
- ^ The actor let out his belt for Gold (rssfeeds.usatoday.com)
- ^ CNN (www.cnn.com)
