Matthew McConaughey has had plenty of memorable roles throughout his decades-long career, but his first on-screen appearance is particularly unexpected. Before his rise to fame, the actor appeared on “Unsolved Mysteries,” taking part in the reenactment of a crime and helping catch a killer a few weeks after the episode aired.
Matthew McConaughey’s career has taken him from rom-com hearththrob to acclaimed dramatic actor. Before nabbing those major credits, however, the actor had to start somewhere.
On August 14, McConaughey was presented the Variety Legend & Groundbreaker Award at the Filmland film festival in Arkansas. Before the screening of his latest project, “The Rivals of Amziah King,” the actor spoke about his career, and his first-ever on-screen role was brought up.
While his breakout role was in 1993’s “Dazed and Confused,” not many people know that he appeared in an episode of the series “Unsolved Mysteries” just a year prior.
“I’m gonna toot my own horn a little bit. The ‘Unsolved Mysteries’ episode I did? They caught the guy weeks later – based on what I did,” McConaughey joked, per Variety.
The Actor Portrayed A Slain Marine
McConaughey portrayed Larry Dean Dickens in Season 5, Episode 13 of “Unsolved Mysteries,” which originally aired in December 1992.
Dickens, a 26-year-old former Marine, was mowing his mother’s lawn when he overheard her on the phone reporting a man exposing himself to young girls. He confronted Edward Harold Bell and took the keys from Bell’s ignition to prevent him from fleeing before authorities arrived. Bell then pulled out a gun and fatally shot Dickens multiple times when he refused to return the keys.
“I was the guy who got shot while mowing my mother’s grass,” McConaughey said in past interviews.
Bell, who had been on the run for 14 years before his case was highlighted in “Unsolved Mysteries,” was recognized by a viewer and alerted authorities. He was arrested soon after the episode aired and died in prison in 2019.
Matthew McConaughey’s Acting ‘Has Come A Long Way’
In 2023, the documentary “Unsolved Mysteries: Behind the Legacy” was released in lieu of the show’s 35th anniversary. In it, one of the producers said McConaughey’s episode was shot in the summer in Texas, which prompted the director to tell the then-unknown actor that he could take his shirt off despite no need for it in the scene.
Looking back at the reenactment, the producer said, “Matthew McConaughey had to do a fairly robust death scene. He was working in his garage, and he was shot by a man who pulled up with a shotgun. Let’s just say… his acting has come a long way since then.”
At that time, McConaughey was studying film at the University of Texas, and “Unsolved Mysteries” held a casting call. “Matthew showed up, and he was cast. The director could have easily cast someone else,” the show’s co-creator, Terry Dunn Meurer, told The Dallas Morning News.
The Actor Got His Breakout Role Months After His ‘Unsolved Mysteries’ Appearance
McConaughey’s breakout role came as David Wooderson in “Dazed and Confused,” where he delivered the iconic “Alright, alright, alright,” a line that became synonymous with the actor.
In an episode of “Bear Grylls Is Running Wild,” the actor discussed his “Unsolved Mysteries” role and jokingly said he figured he did “a decent job” because the fugitive was caught. As for the Wooderson role, McConaughey said that he was just at the right bar, at the right time.
The majority of the movie was shot in Austin, Texas, and a bartender he knew alerted him that filmmakers were in town to shoot a movie. McConaughey introduced himself to Don Phillips, the casting director, and he was given the chance to read for a part.
Writer and director Richard Linklater was hesitant to cast McConaughey at first because he was “too handsome” to portray the sleazy character. However, the aspiring actor won him over during auditions and even wrote more scenes for him.
Matthew McConaughey’s Rise To Stardom
After “Dazed and Confused,” McConaughey landed more roles and established himself as a Hollywood star in just a few years. His first major leading role was as lawyer Jake Brigance in the 1996 drama, “A Time to Kill,” based on the John Grisham novel.
In the years following, he appeared in “Contact,” “Amistad,” and “The Newton Boys,” and later appeared in back-to-back romcoms including “The Wedding Planner,” “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days,” “Failure to Launch,” and “Fool’s Gold.”
After a hiatus from acting, the actor transitioned to more dramatic roles. McConaughey has received multiple Emmy nominations for his role in “True Detective” and won a Best Actor Oscar for his portrayal of Ron Woodroof in “Dallas Buyers Club.”
