Matthew McConaughey and Cannabis: the man who makes us laugh
Stoners can always count on Matthew McConaughey for a chuckle.
“You just gotta keep livin’, man, L-I-V-I-N.” These wise, somewhat hazy words first premiered in 1993 in Richard Linklater’s coming-of-age comedy Dazed and Confused.
Today, these are the words that actor and producer Matthew McConaughey lives by. After all, he improvised most of his character’s lines in the movie, so that one likely came from the heart. Stoners can always look to Matthew McConaughey for a laugh. Even in his more serious roles like Interstellar, he’s managed to make a lasting impact on movie lovers everywhere.
Although, his comedic roles never fail to help us enjoy our favorite plant that much more. It looks like McConaughey has also indulged in his fair share of weed, intentionally or unintentionally. Today, we’re honoring one of our favorite actors in the modern film industry who never fails to put a smile on our faces.
Read on for more about Matthew McConaughey, his acting career, cannabis use, and how he’s become a cherished actor in the eyes of stoners.
Early Days
Born November 4, 1969, in Uvalde, Texas, Matthew McConaughey ended up moving to Warnervale, New South Wales, in the late 80s while attending Gorokan High School on youth exchange. In the fall of 1989, he began studying at the University of Texas at Austin, graduating in 1993 with a Bachelor of Science in Radio, Television, and Film.
During his time at the University of Texas at Austin, McConaughey began featuring in TV commercials, music videos, and series like My Boyfriend’s Back and Unsolved Mysteries. For his big break, he was cast as the role of Wooderson in the celebrated stoner-favorite film Dazed and Confused.
Dazed and Confused (1993)
The hilarious and timeless coming-of-age film Dazed and Confused premiered in 1993 and led McConaughey to become one of the most prominent actors in the country.
At first, McConaughey wasn’t supposed to be the actor chosen to play Wooderson, but he managed to run into the casting director Don Phillips at the bar in a Hyatt hotel to pick his brain.
Funny enough, Philips said the film’s director Richard Linklater thought McConaughey was too handsome to play Wooderson. The Wooderson character was meant to be a small role in the first place.
Interestingly, another actor who played a character named Pickford wasn’t getting along with some of the cast and crew, so Pickford’s screen time was cut to make enough room to expand McConaughey‘s role as Wooderson.
Because the role was initially quite small, McConaughey improvised many of the hilarious lines and Wooderson scenes we know and love today. Lines that our stoner community continues to recite, like the classic “You just gotta keep livin’, man, L-I-V-I-N.”
McConaughey & Cannabis
Matthew McConaughey has never been much of a stoner. Although his role as Wooderson would say otherwise, he hasn’t really proclaimed his love for the plant and its benefits. Whether he’s said it or not, there have been a few quite hilarious scenarios involving our good pal Mary Jane.
In 1999, McConaughey was arrested on suspicion of possessing marijuana and drug paraphernalia. This story is pretty entertaining, and we couldn’t imagine anyone else but Matthew McConaughey pulling it off.
One fall evening, his neighbors called the police over a noise complaint at McConaughey‘s house. Officers walked into the house, where they found a bong on the table and a high McConaughey playing the bongo drums while naked with nothing more than a University of Texas bandana covering his penis.
Officers also saw another man sitting by McConaughey while he was banging the bongos. The unidentified man was cheering him on, clapping, and having one hell of a time. Officers only brought McConaughey to jail, and we’re still dying to know who this mystery man was.
Regardless, the only lasting charge McConaughey left with was resisting transportation. He allegedly put up quite a fight when officers asked him to put clothes on. He paid a $50 fine and walked out a free man.
Getting High With Snoop Dogg (Unintentionally)
If you’re a fan of hippie-dippy humor, you’ve probably seen The Beach Bum. This stoner comedy sees Matthew McConaughey play none other than Moondog, a “Beach Bum” and writer who spends his days smoking, partying, and aimlessly wandering through life.
Another feature in the movie is rapper and entrepreneur Snoop Dogg, who plays Moondog’s friend, Lingerie, and has an affair with Moondog’s wife (Isla Fisher).
Drama aside, Moondog is on a mission to write the next best American novel, where he reaches out to Lingerie for some weed to help beat writer’s block. In an interview on Jimmy Kimmel Live, McConaughey spoke about one particular scene with Snoop Dogg, where they were seen smoking “prop weed” for the film.
Just before the scene, McConaughey told Kimmel that he “went to the prop man to make sure [it was] the prop weed which is like crushed oregano.”
As the scene goes on and the two begin puffing away on “prop weed,” McConaughey told Kimmel, “all of a sudden at the end [Snoop] goes, ‘Yo Moondog, that ain’t prop weed, that’s Snoop Weed.’ I was like, ‘Oh, you son of a gun.'”
“The next 9 hours were a lot of fun, but I don’t think we used one word in the English language,” he said to Kimmel.
Matthew McConaughey Today
Although Matthew has had his fair share of bong rips and “Snoop Weed,” he’s likely not sparking up day after day. Regardless of his IRL cannabis use or not, Matthew McConaughey has become a cherished actor and producer in the eyes of stoners.
Starting with Dazed and Confused in 1993, his roles in popular movies and shows like Magic Mike, True Detective, The Wolf of Wall Street, Interstellar, The Beach Bum, and many more, there are enough Matthew McConaughey twang and witty one-liners to last us stoners a lifetime of laughs.
