Matthew McConaughey claimed his eldest child – son Levi Alves McConaughey – already ‘had the performative bug’ before he pulled strings to get him cast in his new film The Lost Bus.
‘As much as people can say, “Oh, you got this because of your father or your mother,” they can open the door, but then it’s going to be up to me to do my thing once I get in there,’ the 17-year-old nepo baby explained in his family’s People cover story Wednesday.
‘That’s on me.’
The 55-year-old Oscar winner noted: ‘There’s a line between entitlement and shame. If you can look it right in the eye and deal with it, and if it works out, you’ll see, it’s a hell of a roller coaster.’
Self-made Matthew also tried to give Levi ‘tips’ he ‘learned along the way’ about being in the public eye.
‘It’s hard to keep your feet on the ground to sift out the real stuff from the BS. But over time you’ve got to get that sixth sense,’ McConaughey said.
Matthew McConaughey claimed his eldest child – son Levi Alves McConaughey – already ‘had the performative bug’ before he pulled strings to get him cast in his new film The Lost Bus (pictured September 5)
The 17-year-old nepo baby explained in his family’s People cover story Wednesday: ‘As much as people can say, “Oh, you got this because of your father or your mother,” they can open the door, but then it’s going to be up to me to do my thing once I get in there. That’s on me’
‘It’s important that he has his own ownership of who he is and becomes. And [acting] will be a part of that if he continues to do it, part of finding his identity, but it can’t be his full identity.’
The Zach Bryan video star spent his first 15 years in Hollywood swearing he ‘never’ wanted his children to follow in his footsteps but his attitude changed around age 40 when his son was born.
‘I was like, “McConaughey, where are you coming up with this idea you don’t want any of your kids to do it?”‘ Matthew asked himself.
‘Because I looked around at how many special people I’d met in my life, how much travel and going to sets, and what an awesome, healthy, cool experience that’s been for me in my life. I was like, “Where are you coming up with this idea? You don’t want any of your kids to do it. It would be a privilege if they would be able to. And boy, if they want to, what a great industry to try to make it in if you can.”‘
Regardless, the WME-repped actor ‘had to badger’ McConaughey ‘four times’ to help coach him through his taped audition for the role of his bus driver character Kevin McKay’s son Shaun.
The Deadpool & Wolverine actor famously asked casting director Francine Maisler to pull Levi’s last name before forwarding the audition tape to director Paul Greengrass, who quickly agreed and then became even more elated to discover it was his own flesh and blood.
‘There was a tough scene to do with my dad because we’re fighting,’ the LA-born Zoomer recalled of the shoot.
‘And we have a good enough relationship where that’s luckily not how it is in real life. But to come out of it and enjoy [acting] so much was part of my journey… that first time I loved it.’
The 55-year-old Oscar winner noted: ‘There’s a line between entitlement and shame. If you can look it right in the eye and deal with it, and if it works out, you’ll see, it’s a hell of a roller coaster’
Self-made Matthew also tried to give Levi ‘tips’ he ‘learned along the way’ about being in the public eye: ‘Acting can’t be his full identity’
McConaughey spent his first 15 years in Hollywood swearing he ‘never’ wanted his children to follow in his footsteps but his attitude changed around age 40 when his son was born: ‘What a great industry to try to make it in if you can’
Regardless, the WME-repped actor ‘had to badger’ his dad ‘four times’ to help coach him through his taped audition for the role of his bus driver character Kevin McKay’s son Shaun
Matthew also pulled strings to get his 93-year-old mother Kay cast as his mother in the 129-minute survival drama in which his character rescues 22 schoolchildren during the deadly 2018 Camp Fire
Matthew also pulled strings to get his 93-year-old mother Kay cast as his mother in the 129-minute survival drama in which his character rescues 22 schoolchildren during the deadly 2018 Camp Fire.
Jamie Lee Curtis produced The Lost Bus – also starring America Ferrera, Yul Vazquez, and Ashlie Atkinson – which starts streaming October 3 on Apple TV+.
The big-screen adaptation of Lizzie Johnson’s 2021 book Paradise: One Town’s Struggle to Survive an American Wildfire currently has a ‘certified fresh’ 87% critic approval rating (out of 55 reviews) on Rotten Tomatoes.
Last year, McConaughey supervised Levi on the set of McG’s upcoming Navy SEAL-inspired teen drama Way of the Warrior Kid, which premieres December 25 on Apply TV+.
The curly-haired musician’s first-ever job was getting ‘cash for catering’ on the Golden Globe winner’s movie sets and, last year, he made his acting debut in a Father’s Day-themed Lincoln car commercial.
Levi – whom calls Matthew ‘Papai’ – enjoys surfing, tennis, making music, and he’s amassed 449K Instagram/TikTok followers.
McConaughey also welcomed 15-year-old daughter Vida and 12-year-old son Livingston during his 13-year marriage to Women of Today founder Camila Alves.
Jamie Lee Curtis produced The Lost Bus – also starring America Ferrera (L), Yul Vazquez, and Ashlie Atkinson – which starts streaming October 3 on Apple TV+Â
The big-screen adaptation of Lizzie Johnson’s 2021 book Paradise: One Town’s Struggle to Survive an American Wildfire currently has a ‘certified fresh’ 87% critic approval rating (out of 55 reviews) on Rotten Tomatoes
Last year, McConaughey supervised Levi on the set of McG’s (R) upcoming Navy SEAL-inspired teen drama Way of the Warrior Kid, which premieres December 25 on Apply TV+
The curly-haired musician’s first-ever job was getting ‘cash for catering’ on the Golden Globe winner’s movie sets and, last year, he made his acting debut in a Father’s Day-themed Lincoln car commercial
Levi – whom calls Matthew ‘Papai’ – enjoys surfing, tennis, making music, and he’s amassed 449K Instagram/TikTok followers
McConaughey also welcomed 15-year-old daughter Vida (R, pictured in 2024) and 12-year-old son Livingston (M) during his 13-year marriage to Women of Today founder Camila Alves (2-R)
The Poems & Prayers author originally met the Brazilian 43-year-old housekeeper-turned-model at Hollywood hotspot Hyde back in 2006.
Matthew’s other upcoming acting projects include Andrew Patterson’s crime thriller The Rivals of Amziah King, Nic Pizzolatto’s untitled Netflix series about brothers, Nic Pizzolatto’s untitled Mike Hammer film.
McConaughey will also star in Apple TV+’s 10-episode comedy Brother from Another Mother with Woody Harrelson as well as a big-screen adaptation of the Wisdom Tree video game Exodus.
