Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson have been as close as brothers on and off the set for years — though are they actually related?
According to McConaughey, maybe!
In Wednesday‘s episode of “Let’s Talk Off Camera With Kelly Ripa,” the “Magic Mike” actor said that while vacationing in Greece with his and Harrelson’s families several years ago, McConaughey’s mom revealed that she “knew” Harrelson’s dad.
“Everyone was aware of the ellipses that my mom left after ‘knew.’ … It was a loaded K-N-E-W,” McConaughey said, drawing laughter from host Ripa.
“We went on to unpack this, what ‘knew’ meant, and did some math and found out that his dad was on furlough at the same time that my mom and dad were in their second divorce,” McConaughey continued. “Then there’s possible receipts in places out in West Texas where there might have been a gathering, or a meeting, or a ‘knew’ moment.”
Ripa asked McConaughey if they‘ve taken a DNA test to confirm their theory. He said they were on “the precipice” of doing one. And although Harrelson, 61, has been enthusiastic about the test, McConaughey, 53, said he’s been waffling a bit more.
“It’s a little easier for Wood to say, ‘Come on, let’s do it,’ because what’s the skin in it for him?” McConaughey said. “It’s a little harder of me because he’s asking me to take a chance and go, ‘Wait a minute, you’re trying to tell me my dad may not be my dad after 53 years of believing it?’”
McConaughey and Harrelson first met in 1998 on the set of Ron Howard’s satirical comedy “EDtv.” Since then, they’ve gone on to become close friends and have reunited on screen in the 2008 film “Surfer, Dude” and most famously, in 2014 as a detective duo in the HBO series “True Detective.” Both earned lead acting Emmy nominations for their roles in the critically acclaimed crime thriller.
Their new Apple TV+ series, “Brother From Another Mother,” is based on the bond between their families. How close are they? The “Dazed and Confused” actor said Harrelson will often times show up at his house unannounced.
He did not give any further details about the show or when it would be released.
“Where I start and he ends and where he starts and I end
has always been like a murky line, and that’s part of our bromance,” McConaughey said. “My kids call him Uncle Woody, his kids call me Uncle Matthew, and you see pictures of us, and my family thinks a lot of pictures of him are me, and his family thinks a lot of pictures of me are him.”
During the same podcast episode, McConaughey also discussed his experiences as a passenger aboard a Lufthansa flight in March with his wife, Camila Alves, during which seven passengers were injured.
