The Transformation Of Matthew McConaughey's Oldest Son, Levi

In the early 2000s, Matthew McConaughey was one of the most eligible bachelors in Hollywood. He starred in numerous iconic romantic comedies, such as "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days," "Ghosts of Girlfriends Past," and "Failure to Launch." He experienced his own love story when he met former model Camila Alves in 2006. Just two years later, the couple had their first child, Levi McConaughey.

Now, Levi is 17 (at the time of this writing) and recently appeared in his first movie, "The Lost Bus." The film tells the true story of a school bus driver who saved a group of children during the 2018 Camp Fire, the deadliest wildfire in California history. Levi shares the screen with his father and successfully proves that he could one day be a Hollywood leading man. Therefore, now's the perfect time to take a look at the life of Levi McConaughey.

Matthew McConaughey has always lived an adventurous life, and his son is sometimes accidentally a part of those adventures. Levi McConaughey even has a crazy life-or-death story to recount from when he was only six months old. He was almost attacked by a mountain ram when he was a baby. His father told this shocking story while playing "True Confessions" on a 2018 appearance on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon." McConaughey revealed that he and his wife were having a picnic with a six-month-old Levi to celebrate his 40th birthday when a mountain ram approached.

McConaughey said, "I had to launch Levi through the air for my wife to catch so that we didn't get rammed." This maneuver saved Levi, but the Hollywood veteran was still targeted by the ram. "I squared off and just tried to go as Yoda as I could with this ram and just say, 'Not me, whatever it is,' and he was kicking dirt and everything." During this face-off, the actor realized their picnic was actually between the "alpha" ram and all of its "ladies."

Thankfully, McConaughey's intimidation worked, and the ram backed off. As is evident by his 2020 book "Greenlights" and various interviews over the years, McConaughey has plenty of thrilling stories. Even though he was an infant at the time, this gave Levi a story he could tell for years.

It's very common for the children of Hollywood celebrities to grow up incredibly spoiled and without responsibility, but Matthew McConaughey and his wife were determined not to let that be the case with their children. McConaughey discussed how he has always put his kids to work on movie sets while speaking at a HISTORYTalks event in 2020. He said, "I have my kids come out, we put them to work. We give them a little cash for catering." Therefore, long before he joined the cast of "The Lost Bus," Levi McConaughey was used to working on a film set.

Additionally, Levi worked as a taste tester for Camila's baby food company, Yummy Spoonfuls, which she launched in 2016. In an interview with PEOPLE, she reflected on Levi's involvement in the company, saying, "All of our kids were right there helping choose every single flavor, testing, telling us what they did and didn't like. We were all working together." It's clear that the McConaughey's instilled a strong work ethic in Levi, which should greatly benefit him as he navigates his career in Hollywood and any other industries he decides to pursue.

It's clear that Levi McConaughey worked on a lot of movie sets with his father and a variety of projects with his mother growing up, but his responsibilities didn't end there. In an interview with PEOPLE, he revealed that his parents assigned him chores at home. "We always had chores," Levi said. "We started off with an allowance. Then as we got older, it was still chores, but the allowance slowly..." At this point, Matthew McConaughey chimed in, saying, "...turned into more 'This is how you pay your way.'"

Levi added, "Exactly. 'This is how you get Christmas presents.'" This further proves that Levi and his siblings did not live the pampered lives that many children of celebrities might expect. Even though his dad is one of the most popular actors in Hollywood and his mom is a former model and influential public figure, it seems like Levi experienced a relatively normal childhood. Giving Levi responsibilities around the house allowed him to develop his work ethic and value his free time, so kudos to the McConaughey's for their parenting practices.

Speaking of free time, everyone needs a hobby that takes their mind away from work and other responsibilities. For Levi McConaughey, it's clear that his go-to hobby is surfing. Even though he was raised on the McConaughey's Texas ranch, far away from the ocean, Levi was an avid surfer in his teenage years. After he first joined Instagram, many of his early posts were dedicated to his surfing adventures.

Matthew McConaughey actually played a professional surfer in the 2008 film "Surfer, Dude," the same year Levi was born. Even though the movie flopped at the box office and was panned by critics, it made McConaughey fall in love with surfing. Levi clearly shares this love, as he consistently posts videos of himself shredding waves on his Instagram. These videos prove he is incredibly talented and super passionate about the sport of surfing.

Since Levi was one of the inspirations for Camilla's aforementioned baby food company, Yummy Spoonfuls, it's clear that he has always impacted her work. Therefore, it was great to see the mother-son duo team up once again to cook meals for the homeless in Paris, France. While attending Paris Fashion Week in March 2023, Levi and Camila dedicated a night to volunteering at Reffatorio Paris, providing meals to the underprivileged. Many people attending Paris Fashion Week get caught up in the glamor , but it's nice that Camila and Levi spent some time to support a good cause.

Several months later, Levi reflected on this experience in an Instagram post. In the caption, he wrote, "A few trips back I got the chance to cook at @refettorioparis for some people that don't normally get to have a really nice meal. Refettorio Paris serves first class meals to the homeless. They made a great restaurant with high-end chefs to cook – using produce that was going to be thrown away." Levi being so appreciative of this experience shows that the McConaughey's instilled the value of giving back to those less privileged than him.

Matthew and Camila have two other children: Vida Alves McConaughey and Livingston Alves McConaughey. Vida, their only daughter, was born in 2010 and Livingston was born in 2012. This makes Levi the oldest child in the McConaughey family, which he didn't always appreciate.

In an interview with PEOPLE, he said, "A few years ago, it was, I've got to look out for my little brother and my little sister. So I would feel responsible if they were, like, climbing a super high tree, and I was like 'No, no, guys. Get down. Get down. Get down.' And they're like, 'No, we won't get down.' I was like, well, if they get hurt, it's gonna be my fault. And so, I definitely, when I was younger, felt more, like, the big brother burden."

However, as he has gotten older, Levi has started to embraced the oldest sibling role. He continued, "Now, it's just more fun and my little brother's just gonna be the best combination of me and my sister." Matthew and Camila are clearly great parents, but as the oldest child, Levi will also serve as a major inspiration for Vida and Livingston. Therefore, it's great to see he has a good head on his shoulders and now appreciates the duties that come with being the oldest child in a family.

In the late 2010s, Matthew McConaughey took a long break from acting to focus on being a father. Even though he was no longer appearing in as many movies, fans still saw him on their TV screens thanks to his Lincoln commercials. McConaughey has been the brand ambassador for Lincoln since 2014 and has appeared in commercials and other promotional material for the car company over the years. In 2024, he even got to team up with Levi McConaughey in an advertisement for Lincoln.

In the advertisement, that was posted on both Levi and Matthew's Instagram pages, the longtime Lincoln ambassador teaches his son some important lessons before he drives for the first time. Since this ad was filmed right after Levi turned 16 and got his driver's license, it presented Lincoln with the perfect opportunity to capitalize on the bond between McConaughey and his son. This ad also marked a very transformative and freeing time in Levi's life, so it's great that he was able to share this experience with his father in a truly unique way.

Levi McConaughey's role in "The Lost Bus" proves that he is eager to follow in his father's footsteps. Thankfully, for practically Levi's whole life, Matthew McConaughey has been open to him pursuing a career in acting. This wasn't always the case, though. In fact, in an interview with PEOPLE, McConaughey admitted he never envisioned his children being in show business at first. He said, "The first 15 years in Hollywood I was like, 'I'd never want my kid to grow up in the business.' And when I hit about 40, right about the time we had Levi, I looked around at how many special people I've met in my life, how much travel and what an awesome, healthy, cool experience that's been for me in my life. I was like, 'Where are you coming up with this idea you don't want any of your kids to do it?' It'd be a privilege if they would be able to."

If McConaughey didn't have this change of heart, he could have easily prevented Levi from breaking into the industry. Thankfully, instead, he reflected on how much his acting career has given to him and realized he would never want to keep that from his son. Trying to pave a way in Hollywood is undoubtedly difficult, and Levi may hit some hurdles in the coming years, but at least he has the full support of his father as he pursues his dreams.

Following the release of "The Lost Bus," it's difficult to predict what Levi McConaughey will do next in his career, but the Apple TV+ movie will probably open up many opportunities for him. More than ever before, it seems very likely that he will be a famous actor, just like his father. Sometimes, the children of actors can never live up to their parents' talents, resulting in tragic Hollywood downfalls. However, there are plenty of Hollywood children who have matched or even surpassed the fame of their parent. For example, both Charlie Sheen and Emilio Estevez forged incredible careers for themselves and differentiated themselves from their father, the legendary Martin Sheen.

Based on Levi's comments while promoting "The Lost Bus," it seems like he has the right mindsight to join the likes of Sheen and Estevez in the latter group of Hollywood children. Speaking with Interview Magazine, he said he wants to be "famous in a lasting way. I want to continue to build on a legacy that I have the privilege to carry on."

This answer proves that Levi is determined to carry on his father's legacy, which will likely lead to him making smart and calculated career decisions. At his age, it would be very easy for Levi to be tempted by the glamor and fame of Hollywood. However, he clearly cares more about honoring his father's career, which once again proves that he has been raised the right way.

Even though his father has been open to him pursuing a career in Hollywood, Levi McConaughey did not start acting as a young child. In fact, "The Lost Bus" is actually his first official movie credit. In the film, Levi plays Shaun, the son of Matthew McConaughey's Kevin McKay. Shaun is only a supporting character in the movie, but his presence is felt the whole runtime as Kevin desperately tries to escape the wildfire and reunite with him.

Levi has a few scenes in the movie, but one includes a heated argument between Shaun and Kevin. Levi reflected on filming this intense scene in an interview with Man of Many, saying, "Obviously, we all have relationships outside of work, and sometimes you bring that into work a bit ... But I think it's a good thing, in a way, because we could bring our own personal stuff to it."

In the same interview, his father added, "Levi, I remember you telling me, because our relationship is a healthy one in real life it made it easier to go somewhere else and play characters with a relationship that's not healthy." Levi confirmed and claimed he thoroughly enjoyed sharing scenes with his father. Overall, it seems the film was a positive experience for everyone involved and may have brought Levi and his father closer.

Even though Levi McConaughey clearly enjoyed working with his father on "The Lost Bus," that doesn't mean he's immune to the pressure that a Hollywood movie brings. In an interview with PEOPLE, Levi revealed he felt pressure from being the son of a major celebrity while promoting "The Lost Bus." He said, "It's just starting. And as much as people can say, 'Oh, you got this because of your father or your mother,' they can open the door, but then it's going to be up to me to do my thing once I get in there. That's on me."

It's healthy that Levi admits he feels some pressure, and he seems he has the right mindset to deal with it moving forward. Pressure makes diamonds, and based on everything we know about his childhood, Levi is probably well-equipped to shine at everything he does going forward.

Additionally, Matthew McConaughey revealed that he has tried his best to give Levi advice as he begins his career. In the same interview, the actor said, "I've tried to give him some tips that I've learned along the way, tried to give him some of those tips earlier than I understood them ... It's important that he has his own ownership of who he is and becomes. And [acting] will be a part of that if he continues to do it, part of finding his identity, but it can't be his full identity."

Even though Levi McConaughey felt some pressure while promoting "The Lost Bus," he never shied away from the spotlight. He has consistently promoted the movie on social media and has walked down several red carpets alongside his father and family. In one of his Instagram posts, Levi McConaughey looked happier than ever while walking the red carpet at the Toronto International Film Festival with his parents, as well as his grandmother, Kay McCabe McConaghey, who also has a role in the movie.

In many ways, Levi's whole life and all the years he spent working on his father's sets have led up to the release of "The Lost Bus," which has allowed him to start forming his own identity in Hollywood. Therefore, it's great to see Levi fully embrace the spotlight and consistently talk about his desire to be the next great McConaughey in Hollywood.