Matthew McConaughey is back on the big screen this week with his new movie The Lincoln Lawyer, which sees him team up with director Brad Furman.
So to celebrate the release of the movie we take a look back over some of McConaughey's most memorable roles.
A Time To Kill (1996)
He may have kicked off his career on the big screen back in 1993 but it was to be A Time To Kill three years later that was to be the role that grabbed everyone's attention.
Starring alongside Samuel L. Jackson and Sandra Bullock McConaughey took on the role of a lawyer Jake Brigance in the big screen adaptation of the John Grisham novel.
Old ways die hard... and even now in the fast-changing American South, some old ways die harder than others. It's the lesson learned by Carl Lee Hailey, a Mississippi factory worker, when his ten-year-old daughter is brutally assaulted by two racist thugs on a drunken spree.
It's the lesson learned by eager young lawyer Jake Brigance, called upon to defend Carl Lee in court after Hailey shoots both men in an act of passionate retribution for the shattered innocence of his little girl.
And it's the lesson learned by Ellen Roark, an energetic, ambitious and razor-sharp Boston-born law student at "Ole Miss."
As Jake fights to defend Carl Lee, his own life and the safety of his family and colleagues become increasingly jeopardized.
And now, as a full-scale conflagration simmers just below the surface and threatens to explode in this small, Southern community, Jake and Carl Lee must find a way to transcend their fundamental differences and work together for the same cause... equal justice.
A Time To Kill was, at the time, the second biggest Grisham movie at the box office when it went on to make $108 million.
Amistad (1997)
A year later and McConaughey took on the role of a lawyer once again in Steven Spielberg's historical drama Amistad, which also starred Morgan Freeman and Anthony Hopkins.
Based on the true story of the failed mutiny on board the slave ship Amistad in 1839, and the courtroom battle that followed.
In the trial that would challenge the very foundation of the American legal system, abolitionist Theodore Joadson, trial lawyer Roger Baldwin and ex-president John Quincy Adams argue for the freedom and civil rights of the captive African slaves.
Amistad is widely regarded as McConaughey's best performance but the movie did struggle at the box office.
The Wedding Planner (2001)
By the turn of the century and actor had turned his hand to comedy as he teamed up with Jennifer Lopez for The Wedding Planner.
Workaholic wedding planner Mary Fiore is so devoted to her career that she doesn't have time to find a man.
Things change, however, when Mary takes on a lucrative new client -- the ultra-rich Donnollys, to whom money is no object in regards to the upcoming marriage of their daughter, Fran.
When Mary is victim to an unlikely accident involving a runaway dumpster during wedding preparations, she is literally and figuratively swept off of her feet by Steve Edison, a charming pediatrician -- who just happens to be the fiance of Fran Donnolly.
The movie topped the America n box office on it's release - going on to take over $60 million at in the U.S.
Reign of Fire (2002)
Not afraid to mix and match his roles McConaughey took on the action fantasy in 2002 - teaming up with Christian Bale.
In present-day London, twelve-year-old Quinn watches as his mother, a construction engineer, inadvertently wake an enormous fire-breathing dragon from its centuries-long slumber.
Twenty years later, much of the world has been scarred by the beast and its offspring. As a fire chief, Quinn is responsible for warding off the dragons and keeping a small community alive as they struggle to maintain a meager existence.
Then along comes hotshot American, Van Zan, who says he has a way to kill the dragons and save mankind--a way Quinn's never seen done.
This was a first major action role for the actor but the movie, which was directed by Rob Bowman struggled with the critics but put in a solid performance at the box office.
How To Lose A Guy In Ten Days (2003)
I don't know about you but my favourite role of McConaughey's came in 2003 when he teamed up with Kate Hudson for the laugh out loud How to Lose A Guy In 10 Days.
The pair sizzled on the screen together and journalist Andie Anderson and advertising executive Benjamin Barry.
Benjamin Barry is an advertising executive competing with two female co-workers for a major campaign for a diamond merchant.
He cuts a deal with his competitors that the account is his if he can make a woman of their choice fall in love with him in 10 days.
In comes Andie Anderson who, in turn, is writing a story on how to lose a guy in 10 days as a bet with her boss to be allowed to write more substantial stories.
With a hidden agenda in each camp, will either party be able to complete their mission?
The movie was popular at the box office and went on to gross in excess of $177 million, easily making back it's $50 million budget.
Sahara (2005)
Action was next on the agenda for the actor as he took on the role of Dirk Pitt as director Breck Eisner brought Clive Cussler's novel to the big screen.
Master explorer Dirk Pitt takes on the adventure of his life when he embarks on a treasure hunt through some of the most dangerous regions of West Africa.
Searching for what locals call the "Ship of Death," a long lost Civil War battleship that protects a secret cargo, Pitt and his wisecracking sidekick use their wits and clever heroics to help Doctor Eva Rojas when they realize the ship may be linked to mysterious deaths in the very same area.
Despite appearing to do quite well at the box office, $119 million is not to be sniffed at, the big production costs, it cost $160 million to make, saw the movie make a loss.
The Lincoln Lawyer (2011)
And this week sees him return to the big screen, and the role as a lawyer, in The Lincoln Lawyer. McConaughey leads a strong cast of Marisa Tomei, Ryan Phillippe, William H. Macy and Michael Pena.
Mickey Haller is a Los Angeles criminal defence attorney who operates out of the back of his Lincoln sedan.
Haller has spent most of his career defending garden-variety criminals, until he lands the case of his career: defending Louis Roulet, a Beverly Hills playboy accused of rape and attempted murder.
But the seemingly straightforward case suddenly develops into a deadly game of survival for Haller.
The Lincoln Lawyer is released 18th March
FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw
Matthew McConaughey is back on the big screen this week with his new movie The Lincoln Lawyer, which sees him team up with director Brad Furman.
So to celebrate the release of the movie we take a look back over some of McConaughey's most memorable roles.
A Time To Kill (1996)
He may have kicked off his career on the big screen back in 1993 but it was to be A Time To Kill three years later that was to be the role that grabbed everyone's attention.
Starring alongside Samuel L. Jackson and Sandra Bullock McConaughey took on the role of a lawyer Jake Brigance in the big screen adaptation of the John Grisham novel.
Old ways die hard... and even now in the fast-changing American South, some old ways die harder than others. It's the lesson learned by Carl Lee Hailey, a Mississippi factory worker, when his ten-year-old daughter is brutally assaulted by two racist thugs on a drunken spree.
It's the lesson learned by eager young lawyer Jake Brigance, called upon to defend Carl Lee in court after Hailey shoots both men in an act of passionate retribution for the shattered innocence of his little girl.
And it's the lesson learned by Ellen Roark, an energetic, ambitious and razor-sharp Boston-born law student at "Ole Miss."
As Jake fights to defend Carl Lee, his own life and the safety of his family and colleagues become increasingly jeopardized.
And now, as a full-scale conflagration simmers just below the surface and threatens to explode in this small, Southern community, Jake and Carl Lee must find a way to transcend their fundamental differences and work together for the same cause... equal justice.
A Time To Kill was, at the time, the second biggest Grisham movie at the box office when it went on to make $108 million.
Amistad (1997)
A year later and McConaughey took on the role of a lawyer once again in Steven Spielberg's historical drama Amistad, which also starred Morgan Freeman and Anthony Hopkins.
Based on the true story of the failed mutiny on board the slave ship Amistad in 1839, and the courtroom battle that followed.
In the trial that would challenge the very foundation of the American legal system, abolitionist Theodore Joadson, trial lawyer Roger Baldwin and ex-president John Quincy Adams argue for the freedom and civil rights of the captive African slaves.
Amistad is widely regarded as McConaughey's best performance but the movie did struggle at the box office.
The Wedding Planner (2001)
By the turn of the century and actor had turned his hand to comedy as he teamed up with Jennifer Lopez for The Wedding Planner.
Workaholic wedding planner Mary Fiore is so devoted to her career that she doesn't have time to find a man.
Things change, however, when Mary takes on a lucrative new client -- the ultra-rich Donnollys, to whom money is no object in regards to the upcoming marriage of their daughter, Fran.
When Mary is victim to an unlikely accident involving a runaway dumpster during wedding preparations, she is literally and figuratively swept off of her feet by Steve Edison, a charming pediatrician -- who just happens to be the fiance of Fran Donnolly.
The movie topped the America n box office on it's release - going on to take over $60 million at in the U.S.
Reign of Fire (2002)
Not afraid to mix and match his roles McConaughey took on the action fantasy in 2002 - teaming up with Christian Bale.
In present-day London, twelve-year-old Quinn watches as his mother, a construction engineer, inadvertently wake an enormous fire-breathing dragon from its centuries-long slumber.
Twenty years later, much of the world has been scarred by the beast and its offspring. As a fire chief, Quinn is responsible for warding off the dragons and keeping a small community alive as they struggle to maintain a meager existence.
Then along comes hotshot American, Van Zan, who says he has a way to kill the dragons and save mankind--a way Quinn's never seen done.
This was a first major action role for the actor but the movie, which was directed by Rob Bowman struggled with the critics but put in a solid performance at the box office.
How To Lose A Guy In Ten Days (2003)
Tagged in Matthew McConaughey