Decoding Matthew McConaughey's great Globes speech

From talented young actor, to typecast rom-com poster leaner, to award-winning megastar, Matthew McConaughey has had quite the journey, and his Best Actor Golden Globe for ‘Dallas Buyers Club’ simply confirms what we already knew – He's one of the best actors out there right now

[Watch: Golden Globes 2014 highlights]

His triumphant acceptance speech was heartfelt, humble, and a stirring tribute to triumphing over adversity - everything you’d expect from the 44-year-old Texan.

It's unclear whether he rehearsed his speech or it was off-the-cuff, but either way, it was an impressive piece of public speaking, especially when you decode all his hidden messages.

“Alright, alright, alright”
McConaughey is said to start most of his public speaking with this little phrase (it sounds better when you do it with a Texan drawl) to help him break the ice.

But, did you know, it’s also the first line uttered by the actor on-screen when he made his memorable debut as slacker David Wooderson in 1993’s ‘Dazed and Confused’?

"Respect to the nominees”
McConaughey took the time to graciously recognise the other nominees in his category, personally name-checking each one individually.

[Ronan Farrow blasts father Woody Allen on Twitter]

Whether intentionally or not, the actor named his elders using their surnames ("Mr. Redford, Mr. Hanks”) and the one’s younger than him by their first names ("Chiwetel. Idris.”) - that’s a classy move in our books.

"This film, Ron's story, was an underdog.”
The actor paid tribute to the story of Ron Woodroof, the subject of ‘Dallas Buyers Club’ which, he claimed had been rejected by Hollywood an incredible 86 times.

It’s not hard to draw parallels between the actor and the story, after many people wrote him off as a serious thespian thanks to being typecast in rom-coms throughout the Noughties.

"Get out there and do it for yourself.”
Like all good speeches (and Texans), McConaughey takes the time to thank his mother Mary Kathleen “Kay” McCabe, who he credits with giving him the best advice an actor can get: "go be the subject of whatever you're doing.”

The actor lost 50lbs to make the striking transformation into AIDs-stricken Ron Woodroof, which undoubtedly helped him to prepare for the role.

"This last three years of wonderful work.”
McConaughey clearly knows that he’s been on an incredible streak of roles beginning with ‘The Lincoln Lawyer’ in 2011. From there, he began putting in screen-stealing turns in a range of interesting (and importantly, critically acclaimed) films including ‘Bernie’, ‘Mud’, ‘Killer Joe’, ‘Magic Mike’, and ‘The Paperboy’, each film adding weight to the actor’s incredible comeback.

This year will see the release of ‘Dallas Buyers Club’, ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’ and Chris Nolan’s highly-anticipated next film ‘Interstellar’ all of which promise to cement his place in Hollywood’s A-List.

“Mr. Stone!”
After thanking his wife for her continued support, father of three McConaughey pays tribute to his kids, Levi, Vida, and… Mr. Stone?

Turns out Mr. Stone is a nickname for their youngest child Livingston who was born in 2012. If you don’t think that’s adorable, you must have a heart of stone.

[BAFTA 2014 nominations: Biggest snubs and surprises]

"This film was never about dying…”
"…it was always about livin'. With that I say, just keep…” A great way to sum up his life-affirming film, but, it’s also another reference to his screen debut ‘Dazed and Confused’, in which his character says "You just gotta keep livin' man, L-I-V-I-N.”

Fun fact: McConaughey also named his production company, charitable foundation, and clothing line "JK Livin” after that quote.

You can see whether the Texan deserves the accolade when ‘Dallas Buyers Club’ hits UK cinemas on February 7.