What Sold Matthew McConaughey on His ‘Dark Tower’ Character?

One of the more bizarre stories I've read recently involves this weekend's film The Dark Tower and its antagonist, played by Matthew McConaughey. Last year, rumors began swirling that McConaughey was in talks to join the film, but then the talks allegedly fell apart, before Sony announced that the Oscar-winning actor had indeed signed on to appear. So what made him change his mind? Buckle up for this one...

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Dark Tower director Nikolaj Arcel talks about how the character of Walter a.k.a. The Man in Black is pure evil. There's no underlying motivation for his deeds that could be looked at as heroic if viewed from another angle in the way you could with, say, Michael Keaton's Adrien Toomes in Spider-Man: Homecoming. Upon pitching this idea to McConaughey, he was instantly sold...

"He said, 'I guess he's kind of like the devil.' I said, 'Yes, he is.' He said, 'OK, I'm in,'" recalls Arcel. "He loved there's no excuse for his badness. He is pure evil. He wants chaos. That is something he grabbed onto and felt was fun."

So, to reiterate, McConaughey only signed on once he learned that he wouldn't have to display any kind of nuance or subtlety in the role. Once he discovered that he'd basically just have to walk around exuding evil, he was in. Sounds like a great reason to take a role to me. The Dark Tower opens Friday.