Matthew McConaughey And Woody Harrelson Might Be Biological Brothers
Matthew McConaughey's mother recently spilled a family secret which may mean that Woody Harrelson is related to his True Detective co-star.
Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson have always been close. As reported by Variety, a new revelation suggests they might be closer than they thought. While discussing the new series Brother From Another Mother, in which the True Detective stars play themselves as they gather their families on a Texas ranch, McConaughey revealed that his mother knew Harrelson’s father, sparking suspicion that the actors may be half-brothers.
Matthew McConaughey broke the news on the Kelly Ripa show. While on a joint trip to Greece, he and Woody Harrelson were discussing the closeness of their families, who often confuse them for one another in photos. “And that’s part of our bromance, right? My kids call him Uncle Woody. His kids call me Uncle Matthew,” McConaughey said.
Then McConaughey’s mother, also on the Greece vacation, piped in. “And my mom is there, and she says, ‘Woody, I knew your dad.’ Everyone was aware of the ellipses that my mom left after ‘knew.’ It was a loaded K-N-E-W,” McConaughey explained.
The bombshell led Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson to do some digging, True Detective style. What they found shocked them both.
“We went on to unpack what this ‘knew’ meant and did some math and found out that [Harrelson’s] dad was on furlough at the same time that my mom and dad were in their second divorce,” McConaughey recalled. “Then there’s possible receipts and places out in West Texas where there might have been a gathering, or a meeting, or a ‘knew’ moment.”
Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson have not yet opted to take DNA tests. McConaughey explained that the stakes of such a test are much higher for him than they are for Harrelson. “It’s a little harder for me because he’s asking me to take a chance to go, ‘Wait a minute, you’re trying to tell me my dad may not be my dad after 53 years of believing that?’” McConaughey said. “I got a little more skin in the game.”
Whether the possibility of their relation has any bearing on their new show has not yet been disclosed. The touching comedy series about the bond between the two friends playing fictionalized versions of themselves does not yet have a release date. The odd couple story is set to debut on Apple TV+.
Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson met in 1997 while filming the Ron Howard comedy Edtv. In that film, McConaughey plays Ed, a video store worker who signs on to have his life documented by a television crew. They appeared together again in 2008’s Surfer, Dude.
Fifteen years after the release of Edtv, the actors teamed up for season one of True Detective, which is considered by many to be one of the greatest seasons of television ever made. The actors each portrayed vastly different but equally complex characters in the series that earned them both Best Actor nominations at the Golden Globes and Emmys.
Woody Harrelson notably takes what he calls “friendship tours” at least once a year. Often these tours are with Matthew McConaughey. They involve traveling, drinking, and brotherly bonding that enriches both actors’ personal and professional lives.
It may be a bit before Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson are on screen together again, but the actors have plenty on the way in the meantime. McConaughey stars in the recently released Netflix animated series Agent Elvis, which puts him in the role of the King as he makes the jump from superstar to super spy.
Matthew McConaughey will also star in Dallas Sting, an upcoming film about the coach Bill Kinder and the U.S. Women’s Soccer Team on their path to victory, and a spin-off of Taylor Sheridan’s hit series Yellowstone.
Coming off of his feel-good comedy Champions, Woody Harrelson has a packed slate ahead, including the HBO limited series White House Plumbers. In Plumbers, Harrelson plays E. Howard Hunt, one of the men involved in the ludicrous Watergate scandal.
Harrelson is also set to star alongside Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum in the space race drama Project Artemis, as well as the indie drama film Suncoast.
The bond that Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson share is truly special, and it translates to the screen. The actors share unparalleled chemistry, and their new series is sure to charm audiences as much or more than ever with a pure expression of brotherly love.
