Matthew McConaughey has one of those faces that tends to stop people dead in their tracks.
However, a vintage photo of the Academy Award winner has resurfaced, and many of his fans are even more starry-eyed than ususal.
Named People Magazine's "Sexiest Man Alive" in 2005, and perhaps primarily known as the leading man in romantic comedies such asThe Wedding Planner and How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days, it's not hard to see why McConaughey remains top of the list of Hollywood heart-throbs.
But as a viral photo (identified as a high school yearbook picture, but in fact a fraternity picture from his time at the University of Texas) demonstrates, it seemed that McConaughey was always destined to melt people’s hearts:
Despite a noticeable flat (and very blonde) combover in lieu of his trademark curly hair, McConaughey's chiseled jawline and million-dollar smile are on full display in the retro photo.
The college-aged McConaughey is also smartly dressed in the photo, looking super dapper in a blue blazer and striped tie (no doubt, to the dismay of many fans, who would rather see him shirtless, as he frequently is on screen).
Any photo of the Dazed and Confused star is bound to result in excited reactions, and sure enough X (formerly Twitter) users went wild.
Some pointed out how he was always dreamy:
Others felt he looked even older in the late eighties than he does today:
A few were unable to ignore how his laid-back personality comes through loud and clear in his warm facial expression:
This isn't the first time photos from McConaughey's past resurfaced to amusing results.
During a 2019 appearance on Good Morning America, then-host Michael Strahan shared several photos of the Interstellar star in his youth as part of their "#ThrowbackThursday" series:
- YouTubeyoutu.be
After sitting down with the morning news program's hosts, Robin Roberts asked the studio audience, "is there anybody cooler?", pointing out that McConaughey walked out in a "stride".
A "stride" Michael Strahan then declared he "always had," before introducing "#ThrowbackThursday" and a montage of photos of the Dallas Buyers Club Oscar winner in his youth, including a few that appeared to be of the same vintage as the current viral photo.
One of the pictures showed McConaughey at what appeared to be his prom, arm in arm with a young woman, and wearing a "most handsome" banner around his waist.
When asked by Strahan "what would you tell that high school kid right now?", McConaughey replied:
"I'd say 'hey, you know what?'"
"'You're eighteen, you don't have to know what you want to do in life'."
"'Make sure you enjoy being 18, it's gonna come'."
"'If you don't know, it's gonna find you', as it did with me."
"My career found me."
When asked by GMA co-host George Stephanopoulos if he was doing any acting at the time that photo was taken, McConaughey responded with a laugh, "I was acting as 'most handsome' there."
In his college days or at this very moment in time, it's hard to imagine anyone would believe that it requires any "acting" for Matthew McConaughey to come across as handsome.
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