The two actors, who co-starred in Steven Spielberg’s 1997 historical drama ‘Amistad,’ posed for a photo together at the 2025 Joy Awards on Jan. 18
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Matthew McConaughey is campaigning for his old friend!
On Sunday, Jan. 19, the actor, 55, shared a set of images with his celebrity pals on Instagram from the 2025 Joy Awards in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. In the caption, he nominated Anthony Hopkins for the coveted PEOPLE’s Sexiest Man Alive title.
The first snap showed McConaughey posing with Hopkins. The two were both dressed in black suits for the formal event. Hopkins, 87, wrapped his arm around McConaughey’s shoulder for the photo, while the Sing 2 star pointed to Hopkins with a smile on his face.
The carousel continued with a selfie of McConaughey and Morgan Freeman, as well as a friendly shot of Martin Lawrence fixing McConaughey’s bowtie.
The post was a reunion of sorts as McConaughey, Hopkins and Freeman all starred together in Steven Spielberg‘s 1997 historical drama Amistad.
McConaughey captioned the post with commentary on each photo, writing, “1. it’s past time this Sir is Peoples Sexiest Man Alive / 2. 1st class legend mensch / 3. I mean, who else you want straightening your tie before you hit the stage?”
The Dallas Buyer’s Club star’s ringing endorsement for Hopkins comes nearly 20 years after he himself was named PEOPLE’s Sexiest Man Alive in 2005.
He looked back on the honor in a 2024 interview with PEOPLE, saying, “People tell me, ‘You’re no longer the Sexiest Man Alive, McConaughey,’ for the last 19 years, every time someone else has been crowned. And I say, ‘Well, I’m still alive. Come on!’ “
He added, “If you’re named it and you’re still alive, you’re still Sexiest Man Alive. That was my joke going forward with everything.”
In December 2024, the Oscar winner announced a new weekly newsletter called Lyrics of Livin’, described as “a collection of thought-provoking notes, tips, truths and inspirations he’s gathered over decades of life.”
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“I’ve journaled and scribbled down good times, bad times, turn-offs and turn-ons for more than four decades now, and as you may know, many of those journal entries were what inspired my book Greenlights,” McConaughey, who published his memoir in 2020, said in a statement.
“Which got me thinking, what if I didn’t wait 40 more years to share my thoughts, prescribes, tips, truths and inspirations: Things I’ve seen, said, stole and heard along my way that can help us find more Greenlights in our life and put a little rhyme to our reason,” he added.
Earlier this month, McConaughey’s wife Camila, whom he’s been married to since 2012, shared what her husband is really like behind his public persona.
“When we first start dating, it was this image of Matthew of getting high, laid back, no shirt, whatever,” she said on Southern Living’s Biscuits & Jam podcast. “Which I’m like, ‘The guy doesn’t even smoke. What is this vision coming from?’ “
Camila, 41 — who shares three children with her the actor — went on to describe his true personality, saying, “He’s actually the opposite, and he’s like his mom.”
She continued: “She’s very organized, very minimalistic, very on time, very prepared, and he gets a lot of those traits from her.”
