Matthew McConaughey Goes Bald and Paunchy, Looks to Strike It Rich in First 'Gold' Trailer

Nick Schager

Matthew McConaughey has been going through a bit of a rough post-Oscar stretch, lowlighted most recently by The Sea of Trees earning less than $3,000 in its debut weekend. Nonetheless, he’ll look to start another hot streak this December when he lends his voice to the animated Sing, followed a few days later by Gold, a drama about a down-and-out huckster (McConaughey) who winds up sitting on the largest gold mine find of the ‘80s. It’s an amazing inspired-by-a-true-story tale, and based on its debut trailer (watch it above), it’ll feature a larger-than-life turn from its headliner.

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Coming across as a cross between Martin Scorsese’s The Wolf of Wall Street (in which McConaughey co-starred) and David O. Russell’s wannabe-Scorsese American Hustle, director Stephen Gaghan’s film will recount the exploits of Kenny Wells (McConaughey), who in 1988 teamed up with a geologist (Edgar Ramirez) to look for gold in the uncharted jungles of Indonesia. When they strike it rich — to the tune of billions — they go overnight from rags-to-riches. However, with more money comes, inevitably, more problems, and it’s clear from this initial promo that such trouble will arrive in the form of both U.S. officials and Indonesian soldiers. As the center of Gold’s freewheeling action, we see McConaughey with a balding head and a hefty belly. From the sight of him celebrating his triumph in his underwear, to him waiting for his wife (Bryce Dallas Howard) on their bed in an open bathrobe and a flower between his teeth — and to him petting a live tiger — the actor looks like he’ll be dialing his performance to 11 for this award-season contender.

Related: Matthew McConaughey Teaching Filmmaking Course at the University of Texas

Gold debuts in theaters on Dec. 25.

Watch Matthew McConaughey and Charlize Theron talk ‘Kubo and the Two Strings’ with Yahoo Movies on Facebook Live:

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