Matthew McConaughey once found an unexpected way out of a tense traffic stop in Mexico: Jennifer Lopez.
Videos by Suggest
The Oscar-winning actor recently recalled the unusual encounter during an appearance on Josh Horowitz’s Happy Sad Confused podcast. McConaughey said he was driving a nice truck late at night while crossing the border and heading south when Mexican officers pulled him over.
He quickly realized the officers had noticed he was American and decided to lean on his Hollywood career to ease the situation.
“I pulled in one late night. I’m crossing the border, going way down south, and I get pulled over, and it’s one of those pullovers where they noticed me. Gringo in the truck — nice truck,” McConaughey recalled.
He then asked the officers an unexpected question.
“You guys know Jennifer Lopez? Ever seen Wedding Planner?” he said.
McConaughey explained that he had starred opposite Lopez in the 2001 romantic comedy The Wedding Planner. He said he pointed to himself to make the connection clear.
The approach appeared to work.
“They were like, ‘Ohhh,’” McConaughey recalled. “They went off. We end up taking pictures together, and they let me go.”
McConaughey did not specify when the traffic stop occurred or explain exactly what prompted the officers to pull him over.
The actor joked that the Lopez connection was not the only time one of his movie roles has seemingly helped him during an encounter with law enforcement.
McConaughey said his role as attorney Mickey Haller in The Lincoln Lawyer has “got me out of a couple traffic tickets in Cleveland.”
He also referenced his 2005 action film Sahara, joking that the movie has helped him during interactions with highway patrol officers in Oregon.
McConaughey and Lopez later reunited virtually in 2021 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of The Wedding Planner. Lopez reflected fondly on working with her former co-star during an Instagram Live conversation, according to USA TODAY.
“We had such a nice rapport and chemistry,” she said. “We were somewhat at the beginning of our careers at that time. It was exciting to be working on any movie. I still feel that way. It was a magical time. I’m such a romantic, too, that working on those types of movies have a real feel for me.”