Matthew McConaughey had “no idea” his “Alright, alright, alright” movie line would follow him for “life”.

The ‘True Detective’ actor, 54, uttered the phrase more than 30 years ago when playing slacker David Wooderson in director Richard Linklater’s 1993 high school comedy-drama ‘Dazed and Confused’ and has now opened up about the impact it has had on him in the decades since.

He told People: “I had no idea that that line would precede me for the rest of my life.

“People ask me all the time, ‘Are you tired of that preceding you?’ And I’m like, ‘Hell, no.’”

Matthew has previously revealed he improvised the “Alright, alright, alright” line in ‘Dazed and Confused’ as it wasn’t in the original script.

He added to People: “That (came) out of my mouth in a scene that I was never supposed to be in, that was never written.”

Matthew said it was the result of him “starting to get a little nervous” about who his character was, adding: “I started to go, Well, who’s my man? Who’s Wooderson?’

“I said, ‘Wooderson loves his car’, and I’m like, well, ‘I’m in my car.’ There’s one.

“I said, ‘Wooderson loves rock ’n’ roll’… well, I got Ted Nugent in the eight-track.’ There’s two.

“I said, ‘Wooderson loves to get high’, and I’m like, well, Slater’s (stoner Ron Slater, played by Rory Cochrane) riding shotgun. He’s always got a doobie rolled up.’

“Then I said, ‘Wooderson likes picking up chicks’… then all of a sudden, I heard, ‘Action!’

“As I put it in drive, I thought to myself, ‘I got three out of four and I’m going to get the fourth: ‘Alright, alright, alright.’

“That was three affirmations for the thing that my character had as he was going to get his fourth. It was a kick-starter.”

Matthew says the line in a scene where he pulls his car alongside actress Marissa Ribisi, now 49, in a drive-thru to try and pick her up.

The impact of the line was so great on Matthew’s career he quoted it when he picked up his best actor award for ‘Dallas Buyers Club’.

He said: “Every time I hear it, I’m like, ‘That was the first three words you said ever on film 30-something years ago.’ I take it as a compliment.”