Matthew McConaughey played a shirtless murder victim in ‘Unsolved Mysteries’ — and was just alright

In his very first role, Matthew McConaughey was not “Alright, alright, alright.”

Before he was an Oscar winner and a household name, Matthew McConaughey, 53, played a shirtless murder victim in his first-ever acting role… and producers were not impressed.

The famous Texan played a man named Larry Dickens in the “Texas Most Wanted” episode in Season 5 of “Unsolved Mysteries,” which originally aired in 1992. 

In the upcoming documentary special “Unsolved Mysteries: Behind the Legacy,” the show creatives take viewers behind the scenes, and reflect on famous stars that got their big break on the show, such as McConaughey. 

In a clip from the documentary obtained by EW, scenes from the episode show a shirtless McConaughey mowing the lawn before meeting a fatal end in his garage. 

“Matthew McConaughey had to do a fairly robust death scene,” a producer said in the clip. “He was working in his garage and he was shot by a man who pulled up with a shotgun. Let’s just say… his acting has come a long way since then.”

The clip also notes that the scene didn’t originally call for McConaughey to be bare chested. But, the director told the rising star that he could lose his shirt, since it was a sweltering summer in Texas. 

Little did the director and producer know that McConaughey would rise to fame just one year later, with his breakout role in Richard Linklater’s 1993 high school comedy, “Dazed and Confused,” starring in a scene-stealing role alongside Ben Affleck, Parker Posey, and his future “Yellowstone” cast-mate, Cole Hauser. (That role also spawned his famous “alright, alright, alright” catchphrase).

He’d then go on to become a rom-com king, frequently appearing shirtless in movies such as “How to Lose A Guy in 10 Days,” “Failure to Launch” and Magic Mike,” before he went through his “McConaissance,” and got acclaim for more prestige drama roles such as “True Detective,” “Dallas Buyers Club,” (for which he won an Oscar), and “The Wolf of Wall Street.” 

Up next, as Kevin Costner makes his highly publicized exit from the hit “Yellowstone” franchise, McConaughey will take that over, starring in an untitled spin-off show. 

“Unsolved Mysteries: Behind the Legacy” will premiere Oct. 4 at Alamo Drafthouse locations across the US, and debut on Pluto TV on Oct. 5 before streaming for free starting on Oct.19 on Amazon Freevee, Tubi, The Roku Channel, Pluto TV, Samsung TV Plus, and FilmRise’s own free streaming apps.