Zach Bryan Releases New Music Video Starring Matthew McConaughey

Zach Bryan/YouTube

After teasing fans in recent days, Zach Bryan has released a full-length music video for his song “Nine Ball” that stars Academy Award-winning actor, Matthew McConaughey.

One week ago, Zach Bryan shared what appeared to be a movie poster, letting fans know that a collaboration with Matthew McConaughey was upcoming. A few days later he shared a teaser of a video that looked like it was a clip pulled from a movie. The singer then confirmed that McConaughey was, in fact, starring in the music video for his new single, “Nine Ball.”

 

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The song tells the story of a father and son whose relationship revolves around the game of pool as the father places bets on the young son’s pool games. Viewers are praising the “cinematic excellence” and storytelling brilliance of the video, saying that they felt like they watched an entire full-length movie in 3 minutes.

The video’s release comes one day after Zach Bryan won his first Grammy Award.

Bryan’s collaboration with Kacey Musgraves on “I Remember Everything” took home a coveted Grammy Sunday night (Feb. 4) for Best Country Duo/Group Performance.

Kacey Musgraves y Zach Bryan esta noche en los Grammys 🖤 pic.twitter.com/1SCTj2QAmm

— 🇲🇽 Kacey Musgraves México (@spaceykaceymx) February 5, 2024

Zach Bryan, who was up for three total Grammy’s in 2024, was up against some fierce competition in the category. Other nominees included, Dierks Bentley featuring Billy Strings for “High Note,” Brothers Osborne for “Nobody’s Nobody,” Jelly Roll With Lainey Wilson for “Save Me,” Carly Pearce featuring Chris Stapleton for “We Don’t Fight Anymore,” and fellow Oklahoma native Vince Gill and Paul Franklin for “Kissing Your Picture (Is So Cold).”

Matthew McConaughey’s appearance in Zach Bryan’s video wasn’t the first time he starred in a country music video.

In 1992, when he was just 23-years-old, McConaughey appeared in Trisha Yearwood’s “Walkaway Joe” video. In a recent interview with Kelly Clarkson, the actor revealed that “Walkaway Joe” was the first time he appeared on camera.

“And it was, I think it was early 1992, I’m going to college here at the University of Texas,” McConaughey recalled. “This is before Dazed and Confused. And I was trying to get odd jobs in front of the camera when I could and I got cast in that music video to play Joe.”

Yearwood jokes that she should get credit for jump-starting Matthew’s career, even though the two never met.

“He was cast from local talent in Austin, Texas, where the footage was shot,” she told PEOPLE IN 2014. “The performance with Don Henley was shot in Nashville, so I never met Matthew. About 10 years ago, we were both at the Grammys and trying to connect but we kept missing each other.”

Watch Matthew McConaughey in Zach Bryan’s video for “Nine Ball” below.