Matthew McConaughey first appeared in the American mystery documentary television show ‘Unsolved Mysteries’ in 1992. In 1993, he made his big-screen debut in the American zombie film ‘My Boyfriend's Back’ directed by Bob Balaban. The film received mostly negative reviews from critics. That same year, he also starred as ‘David Wooderson’ in the American coming-of-age comedy film ‘Dazed and Confused’ directed by Richard Linklater. While the film received a positive response from critics, it failed to perform at the box office. However, it earned cult status in subsequent years. He next starred in films like ‘Angels in the Outfield’ (1994), ‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation’ (1995), ‘Boys on the Side’ (1995), ‘Lone Star’ (1996), ‘A Time to Kill’ (1996), and ‘Contact’ (1997). In 1997, he portrayed ‘Roger Sherman Baldwin’ in the American historical drama film ‘Amistad’ directed by Steven Spielberg. The film received massive acclaim from critics and grossed over $58.3 million on a $36 million budget. He continued to star in films such as ‘The Newton Boys’ (1998), ‘EDtv’ (1999), ‘U-571’ (2000), ‘The Wedding Planner’ (2001), ‘Frailty’ (2001), ‘Thirteen Conversations About One Thing’ (2002), and ‘How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days’ (2003).
In 2005, he played the role of ‘Dirk Pitt’ in the action-adventure film ‘Sahara’ directed by Breck Eisner. The film received a lukewarm response from critics and ultimately tanked at the box office. He next starred in films like ‘Failure to Launch’ (2006), ‘We Are Marshall’ (2006), ‘Fool's Gold’ (2008), ‘Tropic Thunder’ (2008), ‘Ghosts of Girlfriends Past’ (2009), ‘The Lincoln Lawyer’ (2011), ‘Mud’ (2012), and ‘Magic Mike’ (2012). McConaughey became a recipient of the ‘Academy Award’ for his portrayal of ‘Ron Woodroof’ in the 2013 American biographical drama film ‘Dallas Buyers Club’ directed by Jean-Marc Vallée. The film saw universal acclaim upon release and was a major commercial success, grossing over $55.7 million on a budget of $5 million. That same year, he also starred as ‘Mark Hanna’ in the Martin Scorsese-directed American biographical black comedy crime film ‘The Wolf of Wall Street.’ The film earned praise from critics and grossed over $392 million on a $100 million budget. In 2014, he played the role of ‘Cooper’ in the epic science fiction film ‘Interstellar’ directed by Christopher Nolan. The film received a favorable response from critics and performed well at the box office, grossing over $701.8 million on a $165 million budget. He was next seen in films such as ‘The Sea of Trees’ (2015), ‘Free State of Jones’ (2016), ‘Sing’ (2016), ‘The Dark Tower’ (2017), ‘White Boy Rick’ (2018), ‘Serenity’ (2019), and ‘The Gentlemen’ (2019). He last appeared in the 2021 American computer-animated jukebox musical comedy film ‘Sing 2’ directed by Garth Jennings. The film opened to a positive reception and was a major financial success, grossing over $408 million on a budget of $85 million.