Key Takeaways
- Matthew McConaughey said gaining 47 pounds for Gold gave him “little man titties” and brought his weight to a “soft 217 pounds.”
- He spent six months eating cheeseburgers, drinking beer, and avoiding exercise, earning the nickname “Captain Fun” from his children.
Matthew McConaughey is getting candid about what happened to his body after gaining 47 pounds for Gold.
In a 2017 interview with Howard Stern that was recently re-uploaded to YouTube, the actor revisited the dramatic transformation he underwent to play prospector Kenny Wells in the 2016 film. When Stern asked whether the added weight showed up more in his chest or stomach, McConaughey explained that it actually began somewhere else.
"It starts in the ass," he said.
Stern then pointed out that gaining that much weight eventually affects the chest, too.
"Yeah, you do start getting some titties," Stern said.
"Little man titties," McConaughey agreed. "A little bit of that going on."
Getting there wasn't particularly complicated. McConaughey essentially gave himself permission to eat and drink whatever he wanted for six months. Cheeseburgers and beer became staples of his diet, even at breakfast, and he wasn't balancing the extra calories with trips to the gym.
"I didn't take the stairs to the second floor," he recalled.
By the time filming began, McConaughey said he had reached a "soft 217 pounds."
The physical transformation went beyond his weight. McConaughey also shaved his head so he could wear a toupee and used veneers to complete Kenny Wells' appearance. Director Stephen Gaghan opted against a prosthetic stomach, letting McConaughey's actual weight gain become part of the character.
"I'm vain enough to put on the weight because that's what the role needed," McConaughey told Stern.
His family apparently enjoyed the process. As McConaughey loosened his usual dietary rules and pizza nights became increasingly frequent, his children began referring to him as "Captain Fun."
The transformation was essentially the reverse of what McConaughey had done only a few years earlier for Dallas Buyers Club. He dropped more than 40 pounds for the 2013 film, a performance that ultimately earned him the Academy Award for Best Actor.
