The Criterion collection has dug deep into Richard Linklater’s audition reels in order to provide a window into Mathew McConaughey’s past as a smooth talking, yet unknown Texan in his early twenties. Criterion, a film distribution company aimed at collectors and aficianados, released a clip of McConaughey’s audition for his first role in the texas cult classic Dazed and Confused. The clip was loaded to Criterion’s YouTube account in order to commemorate the release of the film, whose Linklater-directed sequel is currently under production.

The clip serves to remind us of McConaughey’s humble beginnings in Uvalde, Texas, a small town about an hour West of San Antonio. The clip gives a clear idea of why casting director Don Philips encouraged McConaughey to try out for the part of Dave Wooderson. In McConaughey, Philips probably found an actor as close as he was going to get to a naturally occurring specimen of the role that Linklater had written. The clip gives us a nice portrait of the unrefined molasses-paced swagger of young McConaughey.

It wasn’t until recently with his Oscar winning performance in Dallas Buyer’s Club, in addition to his more hefty dramatic lifting in Mud, Killer Joe, and this year’s Interstellar that McConaughey’s career has amassed a definitive sense of gravitas. Between Dazed and Confused, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation, and John Sayles’ Lone Star, McConaughey started out his career as regional star.