Here's Why Matthew McConaughey Thinks Woody Harrelson Might Be His Actual Brother

Ironically, or perhaps not, McConaughey and Harrelson will star as fictionalized versions of themselves in the upcoming Apple TV+ series "Brother from Another Mother." Could fiction equal reality?

While chatting with Kelly Ripa for her SiriusXM "Let's Talk Off Camera" podcast, McConaughey talked about his long friendship with Harrelson and when things took an unexpected left turn.

"You know, where I start and where he ends, and where he starts and I end, has always been like a murky line," he said. "And that’s part of our bromance, right?"

He noted that for years when their respective families would see pictures of them, they might get confused as to which of them it was in the photo. And then, there was a stray comment his mother made during a trip to Greece that set him and Harrelson down an investigative path.

"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,'" McConaughey said. But it's how she said it, apparently, that mattered.

"Everyone was aware of the ellipses that my mom left after 'knew,'" he said. "It was a loaded K-N-E-W."

As he and Harrelson weighed the heft of that word, they started doing some quick personal history digging and math, where McConaughey says they "found out that [Harrelson’s] 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," he continued. But they've yet to take it any further.

McConaughey said that while they've talked about getting DNA tests to find out the truth, it's a very different situation for him and Harrelson. "It’s a little harder for me because he’s asking me to take a chance to go, ‘Wait a minute, you’re trying to tell me my dad may not be my dad after 53 years of believing that?’" McConaughey explained.

Could it actually happen some day? "This is what we're on the precipice now," he said. It's clear that with his bigger stake, this one will be waiting for McConaughey to decide -- if he ever does -- to pull the trigger and possibly realign his understanding of his own family.

Their new half-hour series -- coming after they collaborated on "Welcome to Hollywood," "EdTV," "Surfer, Dude," and "True Detective" -- is all about family, featuring the laughs and conflicts that come when they try to bring their families together to live on McConaughey's ranch in Texas.

"Brother from Another Mother" will run 10 episodes and comes from creator David West Read. McConaughey and Harrelson will both star and executive produce. It does not yet have a release date.