Quote · Modern Wisdom
The Hidden Art Of Reinventing Yourself - Matthew McConaughey - #863
Where this was said
Getting the Role in Dazed & Confused
At 15:34 · chapter starts 5:29
The Wooderson character in Dazed & Confused originally consisted of only 3 scenes and 3 marked lines in the script left by casting director Don Phillips.
A 'launch pad line' is a line that, if the character genuinely means it without irony, could support an entire book. Wooderson's line — 'I get older, they stay the same age' — was that line. McConaughey saw a man who believed he'd figured out life, not a joke teller. That conviction became the entire character.
McConaughey was thrown into his first unscripted scene on Dazed & Confused with no lines and 30 minutes to prepare. He listed three things his character loved — his car, rock & roll, and getting high — then pulled out of the lot to find the fourth: picking up girls. Those three affirmations became 'Alright, alright, alright' — a line borrowed from a Jim Morrison live recording he'd been listening to obsessively.
The iconic 'Alright, alright, alright' line was improvised from three affirmations McConaughey made about his character's loves — his car, rock & roll, and getting high — on the way to pursue the fourth: picking up girls.
McConaughey was paid $330 a day on Dazed & Confused, compared to his best night waitressing at a catfish restaurant of $73.
McConaughey's father passed away just five days into the filming of Dazed & Confused, which McConaughey says gave him real courage and sobriety to face the world.
