McConaughey Is Never Too Far From His Roots
by JANE GANAHL - San Francisco Examiner
April 2, 1999
"The sexiest thing of all," drawls Matthew McConaughey, leaning forward and intensifying his blue-green gaze, "is when two people are having a conversation within inches of each other...to be able to talk going into a kiss and coming out of a kiss. Some actors'll tell ya it's weird or a pain."
The East Texan, 29, grins blindingly. "But they're lyin'. It's great."
He picks up a pater cup on the table and spits in it: brown ooze that had been brewing inside his lower lip. It's a wad of chew! (Talk about a virtual cold shower.)
Is this the face (and bod) that launched a million female hormonal episodes two years ago, when the then-unknown actor graced the cover of Vanity Fair?
"I was in the supermarket and suddenly I see my face on this magazine cover," he recollects happily. "At first I thought I was dreaming, and then I laughed out loud. I picked it up, found the prettiest checkout girl and showed it to her: 'Pretty good-looking guy, huh?'"
That is McConaughey in a nutshell. Open as the Texas plains, undeniably sexy, completely comfortable in his skin - and a died-in-the-flannel hick.
Despite having landed some choice roles in recent years, including leads in "A Time to Kill," "Contact" and "Amistad," the spotlight has not blinded him.
He still says grace before meals and pays tribute to his "mama" in interviews. ("I've gotten really wonderful things, and I believe in reciprocity.") He takes cabs rather than limos, and, if seen in public at all, it's in dives or music clubs with his buddies.
Director Ron Howard, when casting "EDtv" -- which depicts the chaos that befalls an Average Joe (Ed/McConaughey) when he lets his life be filmed 24 hours a day -- says McConaughey caused him to completely rewrite the lead role.
"The role of Ed was initially written for a Jewish guy from New Jersey with a crazy suburban family," Howard said. "But druing auditions Matthew told stories -- about his friends in Texas, his family. He was so totally engaging and personable that it shifted my whole way of thinking about the role."
Adds Lowell Ganz, who wrote the script with Babaloo Mandel, "The minute Matthew started working with us, the script got better. He came up with a lot of the gags himself -- like the Wall of Chrome."
That would be the wall of hubcaps that Ed displays proudly.
Was this McConaughey's personal collection?
He laughs. "No, I do not have a wall of chrome. We're not alike in every sense, although Ed is a big Burt Reynolds fan and so am I. Early Burt, mind you -- circa 'Smokey and the Bandit.'"
As for his leading-man status, as "Edtv" co-star Jenna Elfman said: "Are you kidding? He's gorgeous; he's got a great body, and he's a fabulous kisser. What's not to like?"
Embarassed, McConaughey blushes. "Well, I've been lucky to have had such good actresses to work with!"
Among them: Jodie Foster, Julianne Margulies, Ashley Judd, Elizabeth Hurley and Sandra Bullock, who has been his off-and-on girlfriend for some time now.
