Matthew David McConaughey is an American actor, producer, model, writer and director. He first gained notice for his breakout role in the coming-of-age comedy Dazed and Confused, before going on to appear in the slasher film Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation, the legal thriller A Time to Kill, the comedy film Larger than Life, Steven Spielberg's historical drama Amistad, the science fiction drama Contact, the comedy EDtv, and the war film U-571.