Matthew McConaughey on AI in entertainment industry: 'Reality is more hazy than ever'

20 February,2026 09:41 AM IST |  Los Angeles  |  IANS

Matthew McConaughey and Timothee Chalamet are telling young people to brace themselves and lead the entertainment industry through the rise of AI as it replaces actors

Matthew McConaughey. Pic/AFP


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Hollywood actors Matthew McConaughey and Timothee Chalamet have a message for the young people.

The actors are telling young people to brace themselves and lead the entertainment industry through the rise of AI, reports ‘Variety'.

During a town hall event at the University of Texas at Austin, which reunited the Dallas Buyers Club Oscar winner with his Interstellar co-star Timothee Chalamet, Matthew McConaughey explained the thought process behind his recent move to trademark his catchphrase from ‘Dazed and Confused'.

"It's coming. It's already here", he said, responding to a student's question about AI. "Don't deny it. It's not going to be enough to sit on the sidelines and make the moral plea that, ‘No, this is wrong'. It's not gonna last. There's too much money to be made, and it's too productive. So I say, Own yourself. Voice, likeness, et cetera. Trademark it. Whatever you gotta do, so when it comes, no one can steal you".

As per ‘Variety', speaking to Timothee Chalamet during the town hall, Matthew McConaughey gave an example of the AI scenarios he imagines are coming in the future.

He said, "They gotta come to you and go, ‘Timothee, I'd like you to be at my 50th birthday party in five months, and I'm gonna be in the Bahamas. I know you can't be there in person, but I'm gonna halo you in and I want you as your character in Marty Supreme. They can do that, but they're gonna have to come to you to go, ‘Can I?' Or they're going to be in breach. And you'll have the chance to be your own agency and go, ‘Yeah, for this amount'. Or, ‘No'".

Matthew McConaughey also mused on the idea of AI "replacing" actors, and how the technology might factor into awards conversations.

"It's damn sure going to infiltrate our category. Does it become another category? Will we be, in five years, having ‘the best AI film?' The best AI actor?' Maybe. I think that might be the thing; it becomes another category. It's gonna be in front of us in ways that we don't even see. It's going to get so good we're not going to know the difference. That's one of the big questions right now: the question of reality. It's more hazy than ever, in a very exciting way, I think, but also a scary way. Prep for it", he added.

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Matthew McConaughey Timothee Chalamet Oscars Awards hollywood news Entertainment News
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