Matthew McConaughey vs. Jillion Potter: Actor Grapples Rugby Player In Epic Photo For NBC Olympics 2016 Coverage


Actor Matthew McConaughey recently went head-to-head against rugby star Jillion Potter….sorta.

The Oscar-winning actor encountered the Team USA Rugby star during a visit to the set of the Olympic Late Night show on NBC, which is hosted by Ryan Seacrest. McConaughey apparently decided to have a little fun on the set with Potter with a little bit of lighthearted wrestling.

A now-viral photo of McConaughey and Potter grappling each other was first posted on Instagram on Wednesday by Ryan Seacrest.

“#OlympicLateNight set now requires a waiver.”

[Image via Ryan Seacrest / Instagram]
It may seem as if this grappling session between Matthew McConaughey and Jillion Potter was a spontaneous event with two athletic stars going head-to-head on a late night show. However, Ryan Seacrest apparently wanted to make it clear that it was a rehearsed and staged encounter. Hours before he posted the epic photo of McConaughey vs. Potter, Ryan shared a photographed preview of the match-up.

In what appears to be a practice picture, Matthew McConaughey and Jillion Potter seem to be rehearsing the epic grapple behind the scenes backstage. Seacrest used the practice photo’s caption to promote the battle between the award-winning athlete and the award-winning actor.

“Matthew McConaughey ready for a #Rugby7s matchup w [Jillion Potter] on #OlympicLateNight. Ready to referee 12:35a”

[Image via Ryan Seacrest / Instagram]
It makes perfect sense why the two stars would rehearse such a physical move backstage before performing it on the air, but they still seemed to have a lot of fun with their on-air encounter.

Jillion Potter shared her enjoyment on Twitter Wednesday. Earlier this week, she also shared an inspiring tweet that honored her Team USA Rugby team and her pride over their Olympics experience in Rio.

Most people that have been following the NBC Olympics 2016 coverage know that Matthew McConaughey has been right there in Rio enjoying the action from the sideline and bleachers, which included watching the Team USA Rugby teams.

In an interview with BBC Radio 5 Live, Matthew McConaughey shared his own opinions of the Olympics in Rio and the overall experience in Brazil.

“I’m loving it. It’s obviously very festive… Once you get into the game or the event, it’s highly organized. Getting to and from is not the easiest thing… Once the party has started, you’re not going to throw a better one than Brazil.”

BBC Radio 5 Live’s Sonja McLaughlan did not hesitate to throw in a bit of comic relief as well, asking whether or not McConaughey was supposed to be filming a movie at that time instead of hanging out in Brazil as an Olympics spectator. Matthew did not miss a beat, claiming, “this is my movie,” and adding that he and his wife Camilla were there for a week.

However, the business side of Matthew McConaughey did manage to make an appearance at that point of the interview. The actor briefly plugged the fact that he has several movies coming out this year, including the Stephen Gaghan-directed film, Gold, in which Matthew plays a man searching for gold alongside actor Edgar Ramirez within the Indonesian jungle.

Matthew McConaughey is also featured as a voice actor in the highly-anticipated film, Kubo and the Two Strings along with Charlize Theron and Ralph Fiennes, as well as Sing with a major ensemble cast, including Seth MacFarlane, Taron Egerton, Nick Kroll, Scarlett Johansson, and fellow Oscar winner Reese Witherspoon.

(Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images)

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