Online Reporter
LOS ANGELES. — Matthew McConaughey has revealed how he ended up acting with two generations of his family in The Lost Bus, a film about trying to escape California’s deadly 2018 wildfires.
The Oscar-winning actor plays Kevin McKay, a school bus driver navigating 22 schoolchildren and their teacher through a raging inferno to safety.
But behind the scenes, the film was a family affair for McConaughey.Kevin’s mother and son were portrayed by the actor’s own 93-year-old mum, Mary Kathlene ‘Kay’ McConaughey, and 17-year-old son Levi, in his first screen role.“Just to be in a scene with those two, I never thought that was something that would happen,” the star says.
The film is a real-life depiction of the devastation caused after a power line fell, releasing sparks onto the tinder-dry Sierra foothills.
The resulting wildfires burned for 17 days, killing 85 people and displacing more than 50,000, destroying most of the town of Paradise and much of the nearby communities.
In what Vulture has called “an instant disaster-movie classis,” McConaughey stars opposite Barbie’s America Ferrera, who plays teacher Mary Ludwig.
Mary and Kevin have to make split-second decisions that could save or kill everyone on the bus, all while worrying about the safety of their own families. Kevin already has a lot on his plate – his father has died, his mum is unwell, his marriage has broken down and his teenage son wants to move back with his mother. This is before he discovers he’s the only driver who can help Mary and the children.
McConaughey says the decision about casting was down to director Paul Greengrass.
“Paul Greengrass started as a documentary film-maker, so his interest in truth, in reality, is very important,” the actor says.
Greengrass is arguably most famous for the Bourne action-thriller films starring Matt Damon. His other movies include real-life dramas Captain Phillips and United 93, the latter of which earned him a 2007 Oscar nomination. He’s known for using non-actors to play themselves, so using members of McConaughey’s family is part of this realism.
Levi got the role after persistently asking his father to be considered for it.
“I always pitch the script to my family, whatever film I’m doing,” says McConaughey.
“I tell the story, and that this character I’m playing has a son. My son Levi comes to me and he says, ‘Can I read for it?’
“I went, ‘Huh’. Didn’t say anything,” McConaughey recalls with a smile. I wanted to see how much he wanted it.”
After Levi asked four times over several days, McConaughey conceded he could submit an audition film – but insisted his last name was removed. When Greengrass saw the video, he immediately said, “This is the kid”- before discovering who Levi was.
Kay was cast later on, after Greengrass asked McConaughey if his mother would audition.
“I was like, ‘Trust me, she’s a performer, but she actually just fell and broke her tailbone… and she’s in a wheelchair’,” the actor says.
That wasn’t a problem for Greengrass, who cast Kay after seeing her audition video.
Greengrass’s focus on reality meant he also ditched his initial plan to use a virtual set around the bus to make the film. – BBC
