Woody Harrelson Was Pissed Matthew McConaughey Was Method

Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson Discuss “True Detective” on Podcast

Recently, Matthew McConaughey joined Woody Harrelson and Ted Danson on their podcast, “Where Everybody Knows Your Name.” During the episode, Harrelson shared that there were moments during the filming of the first season of “True Detective” where he wanted to punch McConaughey because of his method acting.

Reflecting on their time on set, Harrelson revealed, “He’s method. When we were shooting, he was Rust Cohle. There [were] so many times I wanted to punch this motherfucker in the face. I’m so pissed at him cause he’s in his character.”

McConaughey explained that he needed to maintain a stoic demeanor between takes in order to stay in his character’s headspace.

Sharing a behind-the-scenes moment, McConaughey recalled, “We’re sitting there. We’re about to start shooting, and we were rehearsing. I’m just kind of being stoic Rust Cohle. Woody goes, like, ‘Hey man, I need to talk to you about something.’ He goes, ‘The way you and I work, McConaughey, I hit you the ball, you hit back, I hit it back to you. We volley, we play. … Man, that’s us. It’s dramatic, but it’s also comedy.’

During their time on HBO’s “True Detective,” Harrelson and McConaughey portrayed a pair of Southern investigators on the hunt for a serial killer in Louisiana’s back country. Harrelson even suggested adding some humor to the dark storyline.

He remembered, “I remember saying to [McConaughey] before we started filming, I’m like, ‘Dude, people are gonna expect to laugh with us. We gotta throw some jokes in here.’ He’s just like, ‘Mhm.’ I’m waiting for him to say, ‘Yeah, you’re totally, no, none of that.’ He just, ‘Mhm, yeah.’

“True Detective” Season 1 received critical acclaim and won 5 Emmy Awards. Despite its success, Harrelson recently confirmed that there is no chance of him and McConaughey returning to the series.

“In fairness, never. No chance,” Harrelson stated. “Because it turned out great. I love that it turned out the way it did, and if anything, doing another season would, I think, tarnish that.”