Matthew McConaughey recalls his spontaneous but terrifying Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation audition for his serial killer role.
Matthew McConaughey has recounted the audition that landed him the lead villain role in the 1994 horror movie Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation. While Next Generation remains a black sheep in the slasher movie franchise and was met with an overwhelmingly negative reception, the film was a milestone for soon-to-be Hollywood superstars McConaughey and co-star Renée Zellweger. The Next Generation was McConaughey’s second high-profile film after 1993’s Dazed and Confused, and served as Zellweger’s first major role.
The Next Generation centers on a group of Texas teenagers who run into Leatherface, the notorious chainsaw-wielding murderer from the original 1974 Texas Chainsaw Massacre film, on their prom night. Zellweger plays Jenny, one of the teenage gang, while McConaughey plays Vilmer, a psychotic killer who, along with Leatherface, terrorizes Jenny and her friends. Both Vilmer and Leatherface are discovered to be part of a twisted family of murderers, the Slaughters, working on the instruction of a man named Mr. Rothman (James Gale).
