At the preview screening of The Lost Bus in Austin, Matthew McConaughey popped by to introduce the film. Actually, it was his son Levi McConaughey who first greeted the crowd before introducing his dad. Levi was on hand because he also has a role in the film – and Matthew was more than happy to tell the crowd about how that came to be.
More Than One McConaughey Acts in The Lost Bus
When Levi asked his father if the son in the film had been cast yet, Matthew told him it had not and that the age of the character was about the same age as Levi. The now 17-year-old asked, “Do you mind if I read for it?” Matthew was hesitant at first, but after a few days of Levi repeatedly asking, he decided to put his son on tape and send a little something to the casting director.
But first, the Oscar winner gave him a piece of advice, “To quote, unquote the great Don Philips, you gotta go with soul and no bull sh!t in your bones.”
After sending the scene to the casting director and saying he thought it might be good enough for a callback, he was surprised by the response he received. The casting director said, “I think it’s good enough to send to the director.”
But before they did that, Matthew had a thought. He decided to pull the last name from the audition so that if Levi got the part, he wouldn’t be worried it happened just because of his last name. When director Paul Greengrass saw it, he exclaimed, “That’s the kid!” Casting then explained that the young actor is Matthew’s son, to which Greengrass replied, “Even better!”
And that’s the tea of how it all came to be.
Levi’s not the only family connection in the flick. Matthew’s real life mother Kay plays his mom in the film.
The Lost Bus will screen in select theaters starting on September 19 and stream on Apple TV+ starting on October 3.
