McConaughey: Building Bonfires, Not Just Campfires

Matthew McConaughey, soon to be honored with Variety's Legend & Groundbreaker Award, views his career and life as an effort to build "bonfires" of lasting significance. He considers his three children with wife Camila Alves McConaughey as the ultimate form of immortality, carrying forward his legacy.

McConaughey's current endeavors include filming a Netflix international caper titled "Positano" in Italy, described as a "working vacation." He will also promote "The Rivals of Amziah King," an indie film set in rural Oklahoma where he plays a beekeeper and musician. The film, which debuted to a standing ovation at SXSW, is set for limited release beginning Friday, August 15, 2025, including at the newly renamed Matthew McConaughey Cinema in Austin.

Returning to the United States, he will promote "The Rivals of Amziah King" and the Apple TV+ comedy series "Brothers." This eight-episode series, premiering September 23, 2026, features McConaughey and Woody Harrelson playing fictionalized versions of themselves who discover they might be brothers. McConaughey also teaches a "Script to Screen" class at his alma mater, the University of Texas.

As an educator, McConaughey encourages students to trust their instincts and embrace mistakes, a lesson learned from his own experiences, including his breakout role in "Dazed and Confused" and his leading role in "A Time to Kill." He founded the Just Keep Livin' Foundation in 2008 with his wife, which supports inner-city high school students through fitness, nutrition, and mental wellness programs.