Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson were one of Hollywood’s most notoriously “romantic” couples… but it’s possible that their marital relationship had more “bros” than they thought. This week, McConaughey suggested that he and Harrelson might be real biological brothers.
Now, if your first reaction is, “Wh-wh-what? How could that happen?” You’re not alone – McConaughey and Harrelson felt it, too. Tell the story Let’s talk off camera with Kelly RipaMcConaughey explained that neither actor had any idea they might be related until his mother dropped the hint two years ago.
“In Greece a few years ago, we were talking about how close we were to our families,” McConaughey told Ripa. And my mom is there, saying, ‘Woody, I knew your dad’… Everyone was familiar with the ovals my mom left after ‘Alam’. It was a loaded knowledge.”
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After the bomb was thrown, the investigation began. “We went to break down what this ‘knew’ meant and did some math and figured it out [Harrelson’s] My dad was on vacation at the same time that Mom and Dad were in their second divorce,” McConaughey said. “Then there are potential receipts and places in West Texas where there might be a gathering, meeting, or ‘well-known’ moment.”
When Ripa asked if they’d tested that hypothesis with a DNA test, McConaughey said they’re “on edge now,” but then made clear some of his hesitation: “It’s a little easier for Woody to say ‘Come on,’ let’s do it!” What’s the skin in? It’s a little trickier for me, because it’s asking me to take a chance [that] This may not be my dad 53 years later would have you believe it. Got more skin in the game! “
The potential father of both actors is Harrelson’s father, convicted murderer Charles Harrelson. The elder Harrelson assassinated federal judge John H. Wood, Jr. in 1979, and had extensive ties to organized crime. In the 1980s, he claimed to have been involved in the JFK assassination, initially saying he fired the fatal shot himself, but then reverted to a more normal stance by hinting at a “rogue agency of the US government” being responsible.
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Aside from parentage, the friendship between McConaughey and the younger Harrelson is still going strong. Listen to McConaughey’s interview on Let’s talk off camera with Kelly Ripa less; The quotes above start around the 13-minute mark.
McConaughey and Harrelson’s brotherly friendship will be the focal point of the two’s new TV show, A brother from another mother. The series will premiere on Apple TV+, and no release date has been announced.
