Trisha Yearwood Tells Matthew McConaughey: ‘I Basically Gave You A Career’
Matthew McConaughey was a guest star on Ellen recently when Trisha Yearwood and Garth Brooks played hosts of the show and, as viewers learned, Trisha and Matthew have a career connection.
Trisha said, “I basically gave you a career and now you’re way more famous than me,” referring to him starring in her “Walkaway Joe” music video in the 1990s.
McConaughey replied, “I want to thank you because I’ve never had the chance to publicly thank you … for being in the video for ‘Walkaway Joe.”’ Yearwood says, “It’s been almost 25, 30 years ago now!” to which the actor responds, “Over 30 years and we’re finally— Yes, I remember this very well.”
Trisha adds with a grin, “I always tell everybody that this was one of the first things that you did and that I basically gave you a career and now you’re way more famous than me. But do you have any memory of doing that? Because we were not in the same place. You were in Austin and I was in Nashville.”
Matthew says, “I remember I was wearing a pager at the time because I remember I was in school at the University of Texas and anytime that pager would go off, and they’d say, ‘Can you get to San Antonio and audition for this beer commercial or this music video?’ I’d bam! Out of class. I’m out of here, trying it out. Well, I was about 0 for 18, and then I got the pager came on to come to try out for this video, and I got that one.”
He recalls, “I remember we spent a day— you know, they used to tell stories in the videos, much different than they do now. It’s a little story, the Walkaway Joe, they meet. It’s a great day. They go swimming. They hang out. They run hand in hand. They end up back at a ‘motel,’ not a hotel. Everything went well, and all of a sudden old Walkaway Joe just slips on out the door. He’s the wrong kind of guy.”
The music video, which also features Don Henley on vocals, shows the 23-year-old McConaughey chasing after a girl.
