Matthew McConaughey (born November 4, 1969, in Uvalde, Texas) is an acclaimed American actor who first broke through with a supporting role in Dazed and Confused (1993) and became a leading man with the legal drama A Time to Kill (1996). In the 2000s, he became a sex symbol through a string of romantic comedies like How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days (2003), but he took a hiatus and returned to dramatic roles in 2011–2012 with The Lincoln Lawyer, Magic Mike, and Mud. His portrayal of Ron Woodroof in Dallas Buyers Club (2013) won him the Academy Award for Best Actor, followed by acclaimed roles in The Wolf of Wall Street (2013) and the HBO series True Detective (2014). He continued with major films like Interstellar (2014) and The Gentlemen (2019), plus voice work in Sing and Kubo and the Two Strings. Raised in Texas, he graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a degree in Radio-Television-Film, and he once seriously considered becoming a monk before pursuing acting. His early life also included a year in Australia as a Rotary exchange student, and his parents famously married each other three times.