Matthew McConaughey said alright, alright, alright to his son Levi’s acting debut.
But at first, the Oscar winner, 55, was hesitant to allow the 17-year-old, whom he shares with wife Camila Alves McConaughey, to audition for a part in his new film, “The Lost Bus.”
The true story drama’s world premiere kicked off at the Toronto International Film Festival on Friday. McConaughey was accompanied by his mom, Kay, 93, Levi, and Alves, 42, on the red carpet. Kay also has a part in the film.
“I had no idea that this young man, my son, was interested [in acting],” McConaughey revealed during a Q&A following the screening, “but when I pitched the script to the family, as I always do before work, the part about Kevin [McKay] having a son, he asked me one day, ‘Well, how old is he?’ I said, ‘He’s about your age.’ And then he goes, ‘Think I could read for it?’ And I didn’t say anything. That wasn’t enough to make me say ‘maybe’ or anything.”
Levi was persistant and continued to ask his dad about the role.
McConaughey explained, “He came back four more times and I said, ‘Okay, now he’s working for it, for the idea.’ And I said, ‘Yeah.’ I knew they hadn’t cast the part. Pulled out the camera, worked with him on a scene, and sent that to [casting director] Francine Maisler, and I said — remember I had a note? — I said, ‘I think it might be good enough for a callback.’ And she wrote back, ‘I think it might be good enough to show to Paul.’”
The “Interstellar” star had one request before director Paul Greengrass got his hands on the footage.
McConaughey recalled telling Maisler, “When you do that, will you do me one favor? Will you pull the last name off so it’s just, there’s no McConaughey on the end of that?”
“She said yes,” the Texas native shared. “Next call I got, [Paul] said, he goes, ‘That’s the guy, that’s the son.’ And then he was told, ‘Well, that happens to be Matthew’s son.’ And in Paul fashion, he was like, ‘Even better!’ … So this is all due to Paul. My family’s in this film because of this man to the left.”
The movie is based on true events from the 2018 Camp Fire in the town of Paradise. The wildfire still remains one of the deadliest in California’s history. Jamie Lee Curtis serves as a producer, while the rest of the star-studded cast includes America Ferrera, Yul Vazquez, Ashlie Atkinson and Spencer Watson.
According to a synopsis, McConaughey stars as a school bus driver who, alongside a dedicated school teacher (Ferrera), “battle to save 22 children from the terrifying inferno.”
“I never want films to be bleak,” Greengrass, 70, told Vanity Fair in July. “I’ve made films about difficult subjects, but I always want them to be life-affirming and drive towards hope. Because otherwise, what’s the point?”
Adding about McConaughey’s role in the project: “What I like about Matthew particularly is he’s a leading man, a movie star and a character actor all in one. And he has a particular understanding of those kinds of communities, blue-collar communities.”
Along with Levi, McConaughey and Alves, who tied the knot in 2012, are also parents to Vida, 15, and Livingston, 12.
McConaughey and his family, meanwhile, relocated to Texas during the height of his career.
The “Dazed and Confused” actor, his wife and three children packed up and moved to the Lone Star State in 2014.
Last year, McConaughey explained why he settled in Texas.
“Look, man, the devil’s in the infinite yeses, not the nos,” the star revealed on the “Good Trouble With Nick Kyrgios” podcast. “No, it’s just as important, if not more important,” McConaughey said. “Especially if you have some level of success and access. No becomes more important than yes.”
“I mean, we all look around and see we’ve over-leveraged our life with yeses and go, ‘Geez, oh, man, I’m making C minuses and all that s–t in my life because I said yes to too many things.’ I have many times in my life where I’m going through autopilot,” McConaughey added.
Before their move, McConaughey and Alves lived in Malibu, California.
At the time, the Hollywood icon was known for a slew of rom-coms, including “How to Lose A Guy in 10 Days,” “The Wedding Planner,” “Failure to Launch” and “Fool’s Gold.”
“That was my lane, and I liked that lane,” admitted McConaughey. “That lane paid well and it was working. But the lane was… I was so strong in that lane that anything outside of that lane, dramas and stuff that I wanted to do, were like, ‘No, no, no, no, no McConaughey.’ Hollywood said ‘No, no, no, no, you should stay there, stay there.’”
Which led to a new journey for the party of five.
Once in Texas, McConaughey told his partner that he would only return to California if he were “offered roles I want to do.”
“Luckily, Camila got pregnant with our first child. So there was purpose coming to look forward to,” he reminisced. “But I was still like, ‘Man’s gotta work.’ Making chimes and working in the garden wasn’t cutting it.”
“The Lost Bus” hits theaters Sept. 19, and will be available to stream on Apple TV+ Oct. 3.
