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Are Matthew McConaughey, Woody Harrelson brothers? They think it’s possible

Actors Woody Harrelson (L) and Matthew McConaughey speak onstage at the 66th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards held at Nokia Theatre L.A. Live on Aug. 25, 2014 in Los Angeles. Lester Cohen / WireImage

Are Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson long-lost brothers?

The Hollywood stars and acting veterans believe they might be genetically linked, with McConaughey telling Kelly Ripa that the pair are considering a DNA test.

Speaking on Ripa’s Let’s Talk Off Camera podcast, McConaughey said the two actors learned from his mom that she knew Harrelson’s father, perhaps romantically.

“You know, where I start and where he ends, and where he starts and I end, has always been like a murky line,” the 53-year-old McConaughey said earlier this week.

“And that’s part of our bromance, right? My kids call him Uncle Woody. His kids call me Uncle Matthew. And you see pictures of us and my family thinks a lot of pictures of him are me. His family thinks a lot of pictures of me are him.”

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Woody Harrelson (L) and Matthew McConaughey appear in still from 'True Detective.'
Woody Harrelson (L) and Matthew McConaughey appear in a still from ‘True Detective.’. Handout / Time Warner

He said the possible link was established a few years ago on a trip to Greece.

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“In Greece a few years ago, we’re sitting around talking about how close we are and our families,” McConaughey said. “And my mom is there, and she says, ‘Woody, I knew your dad’ … Everyone was aware of the ellipses that my mom left after ‘knew.’ It was a loaded K-N-E-W.”

“We went on to unpack what this ‘knew’ meant and did some math and found out that (Harrelson’s) dad was on furlough at the same time that my mom and dad were in their second divorce. Then there’s possible receipts and places out in West Texas where there might have been a gathering, or a meeting, or a ‘knew’ moment.”

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However, despite being “on the precipice” of doing a DNA test to verify the connection, the Oscar winner says he’s been more reluctant to have one done as he’s concerned about learning that his dad might not be his biological father “after 53 years of believing that.”

“It’s a little easier for Woods (Harrelson) to say, ‘Come on let’s do it!’ What’s the skin in it for him?

Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey attend the launch party of new bar The Parrot at The Waldorf Hilton hosted by Idris Elba on Nov. 8, 2018 in London, England. Dave Benett / Getty Images

“It’s a little harder for me because he’s asking me to take the chance to go, ‘Wait a minute, you’re trying to tell me my dad may not be my dad after 53 years of believing that?’ I got more skin in the game.”

McConaughey and Harrelson, 61, have shared a number of sets over the years, acting together in the films Welcome to Hollywood, EDtv and Surfer, Dude, as well as the television series True Detective. They are set to reunite for an AppleTV+ comedy, Brother From Another Mother, where they will play fictionalized versions of themselves living together on a ranch in Texas.

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