AUSTIN (KXAN) — Happy birthday to Matthew McConaughey. The Texas-born actor turned 53 years old Friday.
“Took me exactly 53 trips around the sun to realize that right now I’m as young as I’ll ever be, and as old as I’ve ever been, here in the honeyhole between already and not yet. Amen,” the Austin resident shared on social media to his fans Friday.
McConaughey was discovered at a hotel bar in Austin. In 1992, he went to the Hyatt hotel bar to look over the city. That night the University of Texas student met casting director Don Phillips. McConaughey told GQ, the two got to talking about film and gold, and before you know it, they got kicked out.
McConaughey landed his first role in 1993 in the comedy about a group of high school seniors from Austin. He played David Wooderson in “Dazed and Confused.” He told the 2015 graduating class at University of Houston that he was paid “$325 a day” for the role when he was 23 years old. McConaughey has gone on to appear in over 40 feature films that have grossed over $1 billion, according to his bio.
McConaughey is a jack of all trades. When he’s not busy working, he serves as Minister of Culture for the University of Texas Athletic Department and Austin FC. He’s also a professor at UT.