In 1999, Matthew McConaughey made stoner celebrity history when he was arrested in Austin for suspected marijuana possession, while playing the bongos and allegedly wearing nothing but a University of Texas bandana. Twenty years later, McConaughey is paying homage to his alma mater in a very different way: the University of Texas at Austin announced yesterday that it has appointed the Dazed and Confused actor McConaughey as a professor at the Moody College of Communication, beginning with the fall 2019 semester.
Between roles voicing a beetle in Kubo and the Two Strings and battling Idris Elba in The Dark Tower, it turns out that McConaughey has found time to serve as a visiting instructor in the school’s radio, television, and film department since 2015, having developed and co-taught a class on film production with faculty member and director Scott Rice. The class has studied some of McConaughey’s own works including Free State of Jones, VICE Studios’ The Beach Bum, and Mud. “It’s the class I wish I could have had when I was in film school,” said McConaughey, who earned his film degree in 1993.
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The highly likable actor is, to no surprise, also a highly likable professor, described in the university’s release as “having earned respect among college leadership for his personal investment in student success” and having an “infectious” passion for teaching. Per IndieWire, McConaughey has earned a perfect score on Rate My Professor—albeit from only two reviews, which have classified him as “inspirational” and “hilarious.”
To borrow a phrase from McConaughey himself, Professor McConaughey sounds quite “alright,” for sure.
