Matthew McConaughey's Commercial Experience Landed Him A Unique Teaching Gig

Matthew McConaughey has plenty to keep him busy. When he is not acting, the multi-hyphenate has found time to start a charity and a clothing line to go with it, act as creative director for Wild Turkey Bourbon, and invest in numerous charities, sports teams, and franchises. So it's surprising that the "Dallas Buyers Club" actor had time to add "college professor" to his resume.

After greatly increasing the reach of notable companies like Lincoln and Salesforce by appearing in their commercials, McConaughey has become known as an advertisement guru. He garnered so much attention for Lincoln that "Saturday Night Live" even parodied his televised ads. Not long after, The University of Texas took notice, and now students of the institution can enroll in Script to Screen: Commercials with none other than Professor Matthew McConaughey.

According to the university, the course is designed for students who are serious about advertising, marketing, producing, or directing. The course helps students learn the ins and outs of "scripts, shot lists, storyboards, shooting schedules, visual effects, and behind-the-scenes footage." 

Though Matthew McConaughey signed on for a new advertising course, teaching at The University of Texas wasn't new for the well-known actor. The University of Texas at Austin lists him as a Professor of Practice at Moody College of Communication. The actor signed on in 2019, but that was after having been there since 2015 when he started as a visiting instructor. Beyond just standing behind the podium and talking, the "Mud" actor went so far as to develop his own curriculum, truly lifting the veil for students looking to get a behind-the-scenes peek at the marketing and advertising industry.

One of the celeb's co-teachers, Scott Rice, revealed to the Austin American Statesman, "I think [the class is] particularly helpful for film students because we don't typically teach commercials. We talk about movies. We talk about television, but students are kind of in the dark about how our commercial production is created, so I think that the class is particularly exciting for film students who normally wouldn't get that perspective." Laura Bright is listed as the other co-teacher because McConaughey's schedule is undoubtedly pretty full.

Still, the actor has a profile on "Rate My Professor" with a 93% "would take again" score. "He is alright. ... alright alright, alright," wrote one former student, with another gushing, "Best professor I have ever had!!!! I don't think I could've gone through this semester without his inspirational lectures."

The University of Texas Austin is practically home to McConaughey, who graduated from the Austin campus in 1993 with a degree in film. It was a good thing he wrapped up his studies because that same year, he would appear in what would become his breakout role as David Wooderson in "Dazed and Confused." After passing his film, radio, and television courses and leaving with his diploma, the actor quickly rose to fame. Although, he couldn't quite leave his alma mater behind.

In an interview with The Athletic, the "Fool's Gold" actor confessed, "It's my family. It's Austin. It's Texas. I've been the UT and Austin mascot for 25 years, you know what I mean? That's great. But I want to dig in. I'm ready to get from the inside out. Let's build some things. Let's do some things," reflecting on his appointment as UT's Minister of Culture. Unsurprisingly, McConaughey also calls Austin home, literally. He and his wife, Camilla Alves, have a mansion in the Texas city and have seven boat slips on nearby Lake Austin. Once, he even considered running for governor of Texas.

It is fitting for the lifelong Texan who was born in Uvalde, a nearly three-hour drive from Austin. The lowkey lifestyle of the Lone Star State is much different for McConaughey (and Alves) than living in Los Angeles or their former home of Malibu. Plus, we bet a 30-minute commute to campus is much better than a 21-hour drive.