Why Matthew McConaughey Believes There's A Real Chance Woody Harrelson Could Actually Be His Brother

Matthew McConaughey is genuinely convinced that he might share more than friendship with Woody Harrelson, and he has grown increasingly open about the possibility that they could be related by blood.

The two actors, who appeared together in the hit series True Detective, have been close friends since the 1990s. Their bond has stretched over decades of work, travel, and family time, which has only strengthened the running joke that they feel more like brothers than co-stars.

Over the years, their playful comments about acting like siblings have shifted into something more serious, especially as new details have surfaced that make the idea sound less like a joke and more like a genuine possibility.

It is almost fitting that the pair are now starring in a comedy series titled Brothers, which tells a fictionalized version of their lives in which their families move in together at McConaughey’s ranch in Texas.

But beneath the humor, there may be a true story waiting to be confirmed. The theory that they could be brothers came to light after a surprising conversation the two had with McConaughey’s mother, Mary.

That moment pushed both actors to look a little more closely at their family histories, especially as several odd coincidences seemed to line up at once.

"My kids call him Uncle Woody," the Dallas Buyers Club star shared during an appearance on Kelly Ripa’s Let's Talk Off Camera podcast. "His kids call me Uncle Matthew. My family thinks a lot of pictures of him are me. His family thinks a lot of pictures of me are him."

McConaughey explained that while the three of them were on vacation in Greece, his mother suddenly let slip something that caught both men off guard and raised eyebrows instantly.

"And my mom is there, and she says, 'Woody, I knew your dad'. Everyone was aware of the ellipses that my mom left after 'knew'. It was a loaded K-N-E-W," he said, describing the shift in the room when she made the comment.

They have shared a lengthy friendship Mark Davis/NBC/NBCUniversal via Getty Images

The idea only grew more intriguing when fans and friends pointed out even more similarities. Both actors were born in Texas, around the same time in the 1960s, and they share enough physical traits that people often mistake one for the other.

McConaughey recalled in another interview with Access Daily that when they later confronted Mary about the comment, she responded with: "'Just saying, we might have frequented the same similar place out in West Texas one time when he was on furlough.'"

He added that the comment immediately made the entire room react, saying: "And we all went, 'What? What, are you going to leave it there?'"

"Now we gotta go do some DNA tests."

After hearing Mary’s cryptic comments, the pair started wondering whether it was possible that McConaughey’s mother, who was going through a divorce at the time, might have crossed paths with Harrelson’s father, the late Charles Harrelson, who was a convicted hitman.

The conversation resurfaced again during an interview on Radio X, when host Johnny Vaughan asked Harrelson directly: "Woody, I know you're doing this thing Brothers with Matthew McConaughey. Did you investigate whether the two of you might actually be brothers or related?"

The pair in EDtv in the 1990s Universal/Getty Images

The Hunger Games actor responded by saying: "Well, we haven't done the DNA test, but we're probably going to do that. I think there's a real possibility."

He admitted he could not give a timeline for when they might actually take the test, but the topic clearly remains on their minds.

Harrelson also joked that confirming they were brothers would be a huge moment for Matthew, saying it would be an even “bigger deal” for him than for Harrelson himself.

During an appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Harrelson explained the emotional angle further and said: "I mean, he feels like he is losing a father. But I'm like, no, you're gaining a different father and a brother."