McConaughey holds out on DNA test as Harrelson insists they are brothers

Matthew McConaughey is holding out on a DNA test that could show Woody Harrelson is his half-brother. Harrelson wants the test done. McConaughey will not agree, not yet.

Harrelson said he is convinced the two actors are brothers, while McConaughey said he is not convinced, The Hollywood Reporter reported. The question traces back to McConaughey's mother, who told him she knew Harrelson's father around the time McConaughey was conceived. McConaughey said he will probably come around to taking the test.

The real-life uncertainty is now the set-up for their new workplace. In Brothers, an Apple TV comedy, McConaughey and Harrelson play versions of themselves who uncover a family secret suggesting they may be related. Life and script overlap. The pair have been best friends for years.

Both men executive produce the series, meaning they oversee it creatively as well as star in it. Lee Eisenberg serves as showrunner, the person who runs a series day to day. Holland Taylor plays McConaughey's mother in the story.

The two leads are long-time favourites with film and television audiences, and they previously co-starred in season one of True Detective. That crime series followed two detectives on one case. Brothers keeps them together, but in comedy and as themselves.

Apple has set a global debut for Wednesday, 23 September 2026. The company released a trailer for the series in August. The launch comes five days after the latest interviews about the DNA test were published on 18 September.

What makes this stand out is how unresolved it remains. Harrelson is ready to test and realise the answer. McConaughey is still deciding whether he wants to know.