A Young Matthew McConaughey Appears In Trisha Yearwood's 1992 "Walkaway Joe" Music Video Before His Fame

Mar 12, 2020 by apost team

What's the perfect recipe for an excellent music video? You mix one part country music superstar Trisha Yearwood with one part future Academy Award-winning actor Matthew McConaughey. The Georgia-born songstress and the actor from Texas came together and combined their chart-topping talents to create “Walkaway Joe," the video to go along with the single of the same name off of Yearwood's 1992 album “Hearts in Armor." The song also features vocals and a special appearance by the founding member of the famous band The Eagles, Don Henley.

“Walkaway Joe” casts McConaughey as a young but not so innocent guy who loves and leaves the trusting young girl who's fallen in love with him, according to Country Now. The combined vocals of Yearwood and Henley create the perfect setting for the story. McConaughey plays his part well, from his fresh good looks to his natural acting abilities that draw the viewer in as his love interest tries to hold on to hope and ignore the inevitable, the video touches the heart.

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As Yearwood and Henley perform their vocals in an abandoned house stripped bare of everything on the inside, the parallels couldn't be drawn more plainly. Yearwood's lyrics speak to the emptiness the young girl feels as she tries so desperately to love McConaughey’s character in the video.

McConaughey makes quite a memorable impression in the video. Watching his performance in this video it isn't hard to predict that Matthew McConaughey would have a bright future in the entertainment industry. A fun fact about the video is that Trisha Yearwood hadn't even met Matthew McConaughey when he appeared in “Walkaway Joe." In fact, she wasn't involved in the casting process at all.

She revealed in a 2014 interview with People magazine that a talent agency in Austin, Texas had actually chosen him for the part. She and Don Henley had filmed their parts for the video in Nashville, Tennessee. Therefore, she had never even met the actor!

Following his appearance in the music video, McConaughey was cast in the 1993 hit movie Dazed and Confused, and he skyrocketed to fame. In the People magazine interview, Yearwood revealed that in 2004 the two of them were at the Grammy Awards, where they tried to finally meet; but whenever one of them was backstage the other would be out in the audience, and vice versa. We have to wonder if the two of them have managed to come face-to-face and actually meet in person yet. We certainly hope so!

Even though he played the part of a scoundrel in the video, McConaughey won the hearts of people everywhere, and Yearwood's video was a huge success. Many of us who watched the video felt a close kinship with the jilted young girl as we've encountered a “Walkaway Joe” of our own at some point in our lives. McConaughey played the part to perfection, from his facial expressions to his body language. He was completely believable and for a few moments, we forgot we were watching a make-believe story set to song lyrics. That is the mark of a truly talented actor and a really great song.

Take a little trip back in time and watch the video for “Walkaway Joe”. Check out Matthew McConaughey then and compare him to now. See if you agree with us that he's only gotten better with the passing years. Trisha Yearwood is still a successful, mega-talented performer as well. Maybe she could write a new song and have these two meet up again later in life. We'd love to see Matthew McConaughey reprise his role! What do you think?