Alright, alright, alright! The Criterion Collection did the Internet a solid last night by releasing Matthew McConaughey’s Dazed and Confused audition tape online!
The 45-year-old actor is one of Hollywood’s greatest, with heaps of critical acclaim piled on him for his recent performances in Dallas Buyers Club, True Detective, and Interstellar, but every Oscar-winning actor got his or her start somewhere, right?
McConaughey’s was in 1993, with the cult Richard Linklater film Dazed and Confused. The film introduced audiences and critics to McConaughey, then in his 20s, in the role of David Wooderson, a listless 20-something with a slightly creepy penchant for high school girls. Dazed and Confused has remained a pop culture staple, and McConaughey adopted his character’s “alright, alright, alright” line as his own signature catchphrase.
McConaughey followed up Dazed and Confused with Angels in the Outfield, a role he reportedly nabbed by just showing up for his audition in a baseball cap.
Here’s Matthew McConaughey’s Dazed and Confused audition tape in full:
Of course, let’s not forget McConaughey’s 1994 turn opposite Renee Zellweger in Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation which was shot before both actors became international stars. That film was rumored to have a turbulent and lengthy post-production, so by the time it was finally released, McConaughey was already a rising star.
You don’t have to watch the following clip from that god-awful movie, but it’d be a lot cooler if you did.
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