Matthew McConaughey Great Names Series Appearance Postponed

A native of Uvalde, Texas, McConaughey is one of Hollywood’s most sought-after leading men. A chance meeting in Austin with casting director and producer Don Phillips led the aspiring actor to director Richard Linklater, who launched McConaughey’s career by casting him the cult classic Dazed and Confused. Since then, McConaughey has won a Best Actor Oscar and a Golden Globe for his portrayal of Ron Woodruff in Dallas Buyers Club. He has appeared in over 40 feature films that have grossed over $1 billion, and has become a producer and director.

As a philanthropist, McConaughey and his wife, Camila, founded the just keep livin Foundation, dedicated to empowering high school students by providing them with the tools to lead active lives and make healthy choices for a better future. The foundation implements after-school fitness and wellness programs in 40 inner-city high schools, serving over 3,000 students in 14 cities.

The Foundation also established the Greenlights Grant Initiative to help schools and families across the country access funding from the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA) as the need to bolster safety measures within schools has never been more apparent, with school shootings on the rise nationwide.

McConaughey earned a film degree from the University of Texas (UT) Austin in 1993, and is currently a professor of practice at UT’s Moody College of Communication. He developed the course’s curriculum, which provides a unique, behind-the-scenes view of each stage of a film’s production.

Also an author, McConaughey wrote the New York Times #1 bestselling book Greenlights which takes readers on a journey of lessons he grappled with throughout his life, reminding us to connect with grace, truth, and the beauty of being alive. In addition, he recently wrote Just Because, a picture book for children with “a soulful and irreverent collection of life lessons that empowers readers, big and small, to celebrate how we are all full of possibility.”

McConaughey is currently the Minister of Culture/M.O.C. for the University of Texas Athletic Department and The Austin FC Soccer Club, where he is part owner.