Matthew McConaughey brings back Wolf of Wall Street's iconic Mark Hanna routine for Brothers

In Apple TV's Brothers, Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson are friends who are like brothers. The show follows McConaughey and Harrelson as fictionalized versions of themselves as they explore new chapters of their lives.

As Harrelson lives at McConaughey's family farm for a while, they realize that they might actually be brothers by blood. But there's something else McConaughey might be dealing with, which makes him bring back his Mark Hanna routine from Wolf of Wall Street.

Why does Matthew McConaughey do his famous chest-thumping routine in Brothers?

Brothers is Apple TV's upcoming comedy series starring Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson as fictionalized versions of themselves who are best of friends. In the new teaser, when Harrelson's daughter's wedding falls apart, he takes his family for a much-needed "decompression" to McConaughey's family farm.

That sounds like a fun time for the friends, but things soon get complicated when McConaughey's mother, Ma Mac, reveals something that suggests they might actually be biological brothers. We will thus see Harrelson doing everything to find out whether he's related to McConaughey, as the latter contemplates running for the position of governor of Texas.

While the show's teaser gives us a short look at the show, it begins with Matthew McConaughey thumping his chest and humming. It is the same routine he did as Mark Hanna, in Wolf of Wall Street (2013). In the 2013 film, McConaughey's character, Mark Hanna was a senior stockbroker and mentor who introduced Jordan Belfort to the world of Wall Street.

Mark did the chest-thumping routine on Jordan's first day as a stockbroker, right before he advised him to use drugs and sex to cope with the pressures of Wall Street. The chest-thumping routine was, however, not written in the script of the film. McConaughey was nervous about working on a film directed by Martin Scorsese and used the routine as an exercise to relax and find a natural rhythm before acting.

Leonardo DiCaprio noticed McConaughey doing the private ritual between takes and asked Scorsese to pause and suggested that McConaughey do the warm-up right before their restaurant scene. Scorsese loved how the routine brought a hypnotic energy to Mark Hanna's character and kept it in the final cut of the film.

Since McConaughey is playing a fictionalized version of himself in the upcoming show, it looks like a reference to something the actor actually does to prepare for a scene. This way, not only do fans get a reminder of McConaughey's Mark Hanna, but they also get to see how the actor actually destresses.

Besides Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson, the show also stars Holland Taylor as Ma Mac, Natalie Martinez as Valentina McConaughey, and Brittany Ishibashi as Joy Harrelson. Oona Yaffe, Highdee Kuan, Nolan Almeida, Ella Grace Helton, and Noah Carganilla also star in undisclosed roles.

Brothers will premiere on Apple TV on September 23, 2026, with the first two episodes. The remaining 6 episodes will be released weekly on Wednesdays until November 4, 2026.

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