About six months ago, the internet’s attention was captured by a Matthew McConaughey interview in which he suggested that he and Woody Harrelson might be biological half-brothers. The actors, who have worked together and become close friends, reportedly shared some downtime together, during which time McConaughey’s mother implied she had “known” Harrelson’s father at some point. After doing some math, McConaughey said he realized there was a small possibility his mother had come to know Harrelson’s father, and possibly have a relationship, during her divorce. The twist? Right around that time, McConaughey was conceived, opening up the possibility that he shares a father with Harrelson.
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Almost immediately, fans on the internet decided that there was only one man who could solve the mystery: Maury Povich, whose daytime talk show had gained infamy with a series of paternity tests. In the last few years of his show, the phrases “you are the father” and “you are not the father” became his unofficial catchphrase. Now, Povich says he’ll come out of retirement if Harrelson and McConaughey need help.
“I just heard about the possibilities,” Povich said in a video shared with McConaughey by E! News. “Matthew, I don’t know you — Woody, you’re my pal — but guess what? I would come out of retirement. We could do primetime DNA, Maury’s back with Woody amd Matthew. I’ll even get my showtime color back in my hair!”
McConaughey joked that while he didn’t know if he was up for a primetime special, he does like Povich’s thinking — in terms of a Washington Commanders hat he was wearing.
“Look, it’s a little easier for Woody to say, ‘Come on, let’s do [DNA tests],’ because what’s the skin in it for him?” McConaughey said back in April. “It’s a little harder for me because he’s asking me to take a chance to go, ‘Wait a minute, you’re trying to tell me my dad may not be my dad after 53 years of believing that?’ I got a little more skin in the game.”
McConaughey and Harrelson have been co-stars multiple times over the year, with their most notable interaction being in True Detective Season One, and the most recent being a team-up for an Apple TV+ comedy, ironically titled Brother From Another Mother.
