Matthew McConaughey Hid Son Levi’s Last Name During Auditions for ‘The Lost Bus’

Matthew McConaughey didn’t let son Levi lean on his last name in order to land a part in The Lost Bus.

At the world premiere of the true-story drama held at the Toronto International Film Festival on Friday, Sept. 5, the Oscar winner, 55, was joined by his wife Camila and their eldest of three kids, 17-year-old Levi. (The couple also shares Vida, 15, and Livingston, 12.)

McConaughey’s mom Kay, 93, who also attended the red carpet premiere, and Levi — in his feature film acting debut — have roles alongside McConaughey in the movie, which is directed by Paul Greengrass and produced by Jamie Lee Curtis. The cast also includes America Ferrera, Yul Vazquez, Ashlie Atkinson and Spencer Watson.

During a Q&A after the screening, McConaughey brought Levi onto the stage before proudly sharing how he came to be cast in the film.

“I had no idea that this young man, my son, was interested [in acting], but when I pitched the script to the family, as I always do before work, the part about Kevin [McKay] having a son, he asked me one day, ‘Well, how old is he?’ I said, ‘He’s about your age.’ And then he goes, ‘Think I could read for it?’ And I didn’t say anything. That wasn’t enough to make me say ‘maybe’ or anything.”

The actor continued, “He came back four more times and I said, ‘Okay, now he’s working for it, for the idea.’ And I said, ‘Yeah.’ I knew they hadn’t cast the part. Pulled out the camera, worked with him on a scene, and sent that to [casting director] Francine Maisler, and I said — remember I had a note? — I said, ‘I think it might be good enough for a callback.’ And she wrote back, ‘I think it might be good enough to show to Paul.’ “

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McConaughey said he told Maisler, “When you do that, will you do me one favor? Will you pull the last name off so it’s just, there’s no McConaughey on the end of that?”

“She said yes,” the star recalled. “Next call I got, [Paul] said, he goes, ‘That’s the guy, that’s the son.’ And then he was told, ‘Well, that happens to be Matthew’s son.’ And in Paul fashion, he was like, ‘Even better!’ … So this is all due to Paul. My family’s in this film because of this man to the left.”

The Lost Bus is based on true events from the devastating 2018 Camp Fire in the town of Paradise, which remains among the deadliest and most destructive wildfires in California history.

McConaughey plays a school bus driver who, along with a dedicated school teacher (Ferrera) “battle to save 22 children from the terrifying inferno,” according to a synopsis.

“I never want films to be bleak,” Greengrass previously told Vanity Fair. “I’ve made films about difficult subjects, but I always want them to be life-affirming and drive towards hope. Because otherwise, what’s the point?”

The filmmaker added of Texan McConaughey in the lead role, “What I like about Matthew particularly is he’s a leading man, a movie star and a character actor all in one. And he has a particular understanding of those kinds of communities, blue-collar communities.”

The Lost Bus is in select theaters Sept. 19, then streaming on Apple TV+ Oct. 3.