Matthew McConaughey: bongos, Austin and “alright, alright, alright”

Matthew McConaughey was born in Texas on November 4, 1969. He is the actor with Hollywood's most famous grin. His big break was Wooderson in Dazed and Confused (1993), and one of the best-known stories about him involves bongos, the police and marijuana.

Dazed and Confused follows the last day of school in 1976, and it gave him his signature line, “alright, alright, alright”. Then came Interstellar, the first season of True Detective and an Oscar for Dallas Buyers Club. The laid-back Southern guy image stuck for years, even though there are two decades of very serious work behind it.

What happened in Austin in 1999?

In October 1999, neighbors in Austin complained about noise. Police found McConaughey at home, playing the bongos with no clothes on. Charges of marijuana possession and resisting arrest were dropped, and he paid a fine for breaking noise rules. Years later he told the story himself, as a joke, in his memoir Greenlights.

Fun fact

His wife Camila Alves once said in an interview that the screen image is misleading: in real life, her husband doesn't smoke at all. And his True Detective co-star Woody Harrelson is one of the best-known supporters of legalization. The two have been friends for years and, by their own account, seriously think they might be half-brothers.

The Birthdays series is about people and culture. Cannabis laws differ from country to country; in Thailand, cannabis flower is sold by prescription only.