Matthew McConaughey's famous 'all right, all right, all right' line was inspired by Jim Morrison

Matthew McConaughey's first real movie role was in the 1993 film 'Dazed and Confused'

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All right, he's done it. 

Matthew McConaughey shared the inspiration behind his iconic one-liner, "all right, all right, all right," from the 1993 flick, "Dazed and Confused."

Speaking with Ford CEO Jim Farley on his podcast, "Drive," Mcconaughey admitted that it's "a damn good story," with a legendary influence of its own.

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Matthew McConaughey in a brown tuxedo smiles with his glasses on at the Oscars

Matthew McConaughey shared the origin story of his famous one-liner, "all right, all right, all right" while on a podcast. (Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic/Getty Images)

McConaughey references the scene from "Dazed And Confused" where the phrase is uttered, saying it was actually unscripted. He and director Richard Linklater workshopped the concept when the star stopped by the set to do a makeup, hair and wardrobe test.

"We're about to shoot a scene where my character [David] Wooderson pulls up to try and pick up the redheaded intellectual, [Cynthia Dunn], and there's not a word written," McConaughey explained.

Matthew McConaughey in a white t-shirt and peach colored pants in a scene from "Dazed and Confused" stands around with other guys

Matthew McConaughey says the very first scene he shot for the 1993 film "Dazed and Confused" was improvised. (Collection Christophel/Alamy Stock Photo)

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"I start getting a little anxious," McConaughey admitted. "Never acted before in my life. Never done any of this. But I start to tell myself, 'Matthew, who's your man? Who's Wooderson?' And I'm going through my mind and I said, 'Well, Wooderson's about his car.' And I go, 'Well, look at here, I'm in my 1970 Chevelle.' There's one."

"I go, ‘Wooderson is about rock and roll. I said, ’Well man, I got Ted Nugents ‘Stranglehold’ in the eight track right now.' There's two. I said, ‘Wooderson is about getting high.’ And I said, 'Well, [character] [Ron] Slater's riding shotgun. He's always got a doobie rolled up.' There's three."

Matthew McConaughey in the car during "Dazed and Confused" as David Wooderson

Matthew McConaughey shared he was inspired by Jim Morrison when he said his famous line in "Dazed and Confused." (Collection Christophel/Alamy Stock Photo)

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"And all of a sudden you hear, ‘Action.’ And as I look up [across] the parking lot at the redheaded intellectual played by Marissa Ribisi, I said, 'Wooderson's about picking up chicks.' Put it into drive, pull out. And verbally, I was giving an affirmation of the three things I had while going to get the fourth. I said, ‘All right, all right, all right.’ And that was the three affirmations for the three things I had."

"My car, rock and roll and weed while I was trying to go get the fourth thing that my character, Wooderson, wanted."

black and white photo of Jim Morrison smirking subtly for the camera

Matthew McConaughey says rocker Jim Morrison "barked" the phrase "all right" four times in a concert. (Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)

McConaughey was pressed by Farley on the significance of "all right," if it was a part of his own vernacular and McConaughey recalled listening to a live Doors album before filming began. "I remember a couple months before that there was a live performance of The Doors. I think it was over in Amsterdam, [Texas] or something, and Jim Morrison in between [songs], like barked. ‘All right, all right, all right, all right,'" McConaughey said.

"He said it four times," adding that Morrison said it with such vigor. "For whatever reason, that meter… came into my head and I think I took that. And made it Wooderson's in a much more laid back, ‘all right’ way."

Matthew McConaughey in an orange shirt that says Texas puts up the peace sign

Matthew McConaughey says the iconic phrase ultimately kickstarted his illustrious film career. (Tim Warner/Getty Images)

"But those three [words] were my kickstart into my first scene of my – my career. To give me the confidence in the sense of identity of who my man was: Wooderson… I didn't know if it was any good, I wasn't really judging it," the Texas native said of the now iconic phrase. 

"It was just what I needed, which is what Wooderson needed."

Caroline Thayer is an entertainment writer for Fox News Digital. Follow Caroline Thayer on Twitter at @carolinejthayer. Story tips can be sent to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Authored by Caroline Thayer via FoxNews March 13th 2024