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Matthew McConaughey wants to be a good man, not a nice guy

A note from Wild Card host Rachel Martin: I was thinking about what sets Matthew McConaughey apart from all his peers. He's obviously very good at capital "A" acting and has the awards to show it, including an Oscar for his role in "Dallas Buyer's Club." He's got that "aw shucks" Texas charm that made him a surefire bet at the box office whenever he popped up in a rom-com.

But besides the personality and skill, what stands out to me in every McConaughey performance is the rhythm of it. There's a swing and a swagger in how he delivers his lines. It's like a call-and-response kind of thing but he's doing both the calling and responding. You hear it in how he says goodbye to his daughter in "Interstellar," in his money monologue in "The Wolf of Wall Street," and if you want to hear it in its most raw form, treat yourself to a rewatch of the 1993 classic "Dazed and Confused."

So when Matthew McConaughey puts out a book of poetry, it totally makes sense to me. He's always been living in the rhythm of things. His new book is called "Poems & Prayers."

Copyright 2025 NPR

Rachel Martin is a host of Morning Edition, as well as NPR's morning news podcast Up First.
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