Before everyone was hyped about counterfeiting and weathering technology, Cary Fukunaga and his “True Detective” cast had to rely on good old-fashioned makeup and, you know, acting to represent the passage of time. And no one has risen to that challenge more than Matthew McConaughey, who has gone from a chiseled young cop with a penchant for nihilism to a haunted, haggard old detective with a dawning sense that there could be more life beneath our heads. eyes.
It’s the little things that really made the performance so compelling. As a young Rust Cohle, McConaughey avoids eye contact to portray his character’s apparent misanthropy and his inner struggle with the death of his young daughter. He is closed and lost in his own head. But as an older Cole, he’s keen on getting people’s attention, like he’s come to terms with who he is and is therefore more direct and expressive.
And it seems those choices about how Rust’s ways evolved all came from McConaughey. Speaking to Esquire, Cary Fukunaga explained how the actor envisioned his character’s unique walk, before expanding on his approach in general, saying:
“[T]he psychology of where he picked up Cohle’s ways and then how he physically embodied them is all him. It’s not scripted, it’s Matthew McConaughey making decisions about how he smokes, how he walks, how he drives, how he does everything. There’s a lot of things he doesn’t even look at. Things happen before his eyes as if he is quite capable of doing anything without looking because his senses are so heightened.”
Could we see a brief Rust cameo in “True Detective” Season 4? Let’s hope so.