Matthew McConaughey shares the one word his mom said that made him believe Woody Harrelson may be his real-life brother

Matthew McConaughey might have a famous bromance with Woody Harrelson, but the actor has gone so far as to say he believes they could even be brothers in real life.

During an interview together, the two actors – who starred together on True Detective – opened up about their close friendship, and it turns out their relationship goes way back.

Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson have long been compared in the looks department. Credit: Kevin Winter / Getty

Matthew revealed in the Let’s Talk Off Camera with Kelly Ripa podcast: “You know, where I start and where he ends, and where he starts and I end, has always been like a murky line.

“And that’s part of our bromance, right? My kids call him Uncle Woody. His kids call me Uncle Matthew etc etc. And you see pictures of us and my family thinks a lot of pictures of him are me. His family thinks a lot of pictures of me are him.”

While the pair may have similarities in how they look, it turns out Matthew has suspicions that he and Woody may share the same dad.

Matthew shared what his mother said to make him believe Woody could be his brother. Credit: Gary Miller / Getty

He explained: “In Greece a few years ago, we’re sitting around talking about how close we are and our families. And my mom is there, and she says, ‘Woody, I knew your dad…’ Everyone was aware of the ellipses that my mom left after ‘knew.’ It was a loaded K-N-E-W.

“We went on to unpack what this ‘knew’ meant and did some math and found out that his dad was on furlough at the same time that my mom and dad were in their second divorce.

“Then there’s possible receipts and places out in West Texas where there might have been a gathering, or a meeting, or a ‘knew’ moment.”

The two actors have a long-standing relationship. Credit: Dave Benett / Getty

Matthew and Woody have discussed doing a DNA test to check if they are related, but despite being “on the precipice” of going through with it, Matthew chose not to.

He revealed that he was worried in case he discovered that his late father James McConaughey wasn’t his biological dad “after 53 years of believing that”.

Just to cement their potential brotherhood, Matthew and Woody also appeared in the comedy series Brother From Another Mother for Apple TV+.

The series is a fictional portrayal of the pair’s real-life friendship, as they have been close since first meeting in 1997 on Ron Howard’s EDtv.

Matthew and Woody both have different tales about the moment they first met, with Matthew claiming it was at a costume fitting in San Francisco for EDtv, where Woody walked in wearing “bike shorts, professional bike top and he’s still got his professional bike riding shoes on that he’s walking the streets of San Francisco in.”

The pair have starred together several times over the years, including in True Detective and the movie Surfer, Dude.