21 April 2023 , 10:37
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Actors Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson are currently involved in a bonkers real-life saga that could easily be the plot of an Oscar-winning film.
The two global stars, who appeared together on screen in crime drama True Detective, are currently debating whether to have a DNA test that would reveal if they are actually brothers.
Woody, 53, is keen for Matthew to take the test that would reveal if the pair are more than just best friends, but Interstellar star Matthew is reluctant to possibly discover his father is a different man to the one who raised him.
As we wait for Woody and Matthew to decide what to do next on their wild real-life Who Do You Think You Are journey, we take a look at their family history and the mass murderer at the centre of all this.
The two Hollywood actors could possibly be more than just co-stars (Dave Benett/Getty Images)Who was Woody Harrelson's father?
The Hunger Games actor Woodrow Tracy Harrelson (Woody) was born in Midland, Texas, on July 23, 1961, to secretary Diane Oswald and convicted hitman Charles Voyde Harrelson.
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Charles was an American hitman and organised crime figure who was convicted of assassinating federal judge John H. Wood Jr., the first federal judge to be assassinated in the 20th century.
Prior to being to being sentenced to two life terms for the murder of John, Charles had served time the 1968 murder-for-hire killing of Sam Degelia Jr. and was tried for the 1968 murder of Alan Harry Berg.
Charles speaking to the media from a Harris County Jail visitor's room while serving time in prison (Bettmann Archive)
The convicted killer once claimed to have been involved in the assassination of JFK (The LIFE Picture Collection via Getty Images)In September 1980, after shooting federal judge John H. Wood Jr. in 1979, Charles was cornered by the police and surrendered after a six-hour standoff, but not before making some major claims.
Charles, who says he was high on cocaine at the time, threatened to take his own life during the standoff, and claimed he had been involved in the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy.
"At the same time I said I had killed the judge, I said I had killed Kennedy, which might give you an idea to the state of my mind at the time," Charles said in a TV interview after his arrest.
He added that the claims made during the standoff were "an effort to elongate my life."
Charles' claims were pretty much dismissed during his trial and the FBI "apparently discounted any involvement by Harrelson in the Kennedy assassination" but it wouldn't be the last time Charles discussed JFK's murder.
"Do you believe that Lee Harvey Oswald killed President Kennedy, alone, without any aid from a rogue agency of the US government or at least a portion of that agency? I believe you are very naive if you do," Charles told Dallas TV station KDFW-TV in 1982.
Complicated relationship with his famous son
'Brothers' Woody and Matthew on the set of TV series True Detective (Home Box Office)Woody's mother raised the future actor and his two brothers away from their father and the three men didn't know of Charles' whereabouts until 1981, when he was arrested for the murder of Judge Wood.
Speaking in an interview in 1988, when he was a household name thanks to his role on Cheers, Woody admitted to visiting his father regularly in prison but had mixed feelings about their relationship.
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"My father is one of the most articulate, well-read, charming people I've ever known," Woody mused.
"Still, I'm just now gauging whether he merits my loyalty or friendship. I look at him as someone who could be a friend more than someone who was a father."
Charles was found dead in his prison cell at the age of 68 in 2007 after suffering from a heart attack.
How are Woody and Matthew possibly related?
Matthew says he 'more skin in the game' when it comes to taking a DNA test to uncover the truth (FilmMagic)Both Woody and Ed have explained why they think they may be related but the two stars have very different feelings about possibly being brothers.
Speaking on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Woody said: "Well, I'll just say there is some veracity to that thought because we talked to Ma' Mac, Matthew's legitimate mother, and she let us know one time… I mean, this is crazy.
"We were in Greece watching the US team win the World Cup and I don't know, I mentioned something about regrets."
The Edges of Seventeen star continued: "And I said, 'You know, it's odd that my father has no regrets.' And I have known Ma' Mac a long time, and she goes, 'I knew… your father.' And it was the ellipses I found a little troubling, or interesting. 'I knew your father.'"
Describing Ma' Mac as "full of innuendo", Woody claimed Matthew was conceived the same time as their parents were reportedly acquainted.
"The year of his birth, nine months before, she was on a sabbatical from her relationship with his supposed father, Jim," he stated.
Matthew's kids call Woody 'Uncle Woody' (officiallymcconaughey/Instagram)Despite being able to confirm their relationship with a DNA test, Woody conceded Matthew wasn't keen on getting one, explaining his friend felt like he could be losing a father.
He shared: "We want to go for a test, but for him, it's a much more big deal. I mean he feels like he is losing a father. But I'm like, no, you're gaining a different father and a brother."
The bombshell from Matthew's mum led to him investigating his family history.
He found out Woody's dad was on furlough at the same time his own parents were going through their second divorce.
Speaking to Kelly Ripa, Matthew confessed: "My kids call him Uncle Woody. His kids call me Uncle Matthew 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."
"Look, it’s a little easier for Woody to say, ‘Come on, let’s do [DNA tests],’ because what’s the skin in it for him?" he added on the Let’s Talk Off Camera podcast.
"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?’ I got a little more skin in the game."
Possible PR stunt
Could the two actors be fabricating their family history slightly for publicity?Matthew and Woody are set to reunite on screen again in a new Apple TV+ comedy where they star as fictionalised versions of themselves as they blend their families under the same roof on a Texas ranch.
The two actors have previously shared the screen twice before, in 1999 movie EDtv and the first season of the HBO crime series True Detective.
"The untitled comedy is a heartfelt odd couple love story revolving around the strange and beautiful bond between Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson. Matthew and Woody’s friendship is tested when their combined families attempt to live together on Matthew’s ranch in Texas," Apple TV said in a press release about the upcoming project last month.
It is unclear if the real-life speculation about lead actors Matthew and Woody's family trees factors into the 10-part series, Brother From Another Mother.