Matthew McConaughey's catchphrase origin revealed

Actor Matthew McConaughey during his monologue on Saturday Night Live. Photo / Getty Images

Matthew McConaughey has revealed how he came up with his infamous catchphrase "alright, alright, alright".

The actor, who hosted Saturday Night Live over the weekend, made the revelation on his return to the show after 14 years.

In his opening monologue, McConaughey told the audience he would tell them the "origin story of the phrase" which he famously uttered when he picked up his Oscar last year for his part in Dallas Buyers Club.

The first time McConaughey said the line was in his very first movie, Dazed and Confused in 1993, and it was to help him get into character.

McConaughey said he landed the part by fluke, having spent a night drinking with the producer in a bar while he was still a college student.

He says he had never really acted before, but the producer said he would be perfect for the role of the stoner, David Wooderson.

McConaughey was called upon to act in his first scene by director Richard Linklater sooner than he expected.

"Am I nervous? Damn right I'm nervous," McConaughey said of the moment.

"So I start thinking, 'Who is Wooderson? Who's my man? What's he about?' and I have to tell myself 'Wooderson is about four things: he's about cars, weed, rock 'n' roll and chicks'," he said.

"I look around where I am, I say 'Well I'm in my '70s Chevelle [car], that's one, I got Slater riding shotgun so I'm definitely getting high, that's two, and we got Ted Nugent playing Stranglehold on the eight-track, that's three'.

"At this point I hear over the intercom 'Action' and I look up across the drive-through at this red-headed intellectual and I say to myself 'buddy, you got three out of four, alright alright alright'," McConaughey said.

So, there it is, it was all just an acting technique.

Alright, alright, alright.

- AAP