Matthew McConaughey explained how unscripted moment became one of Wolf of Wall Street’s most iconic scenes

Seen as though The Wolf of Wall Street had such a star-studded cast, it's easy to forget some of the celebrities who made cameos in the Martin Scorsese movie.

But thanks to a certain unscripted moment in the 2013 film, none of us can forget that Matthew McConaughey was part of the legendary line-up.

The actor, 55, has been in showbiz since the early 1990s, so you can imagine he has picked up plenty of tips and tricks along the way which help him deliver a captivating performance.

McConaughey might not think some of his pre-shoot rituals are that impressive after all of these years, but his The Wolf of Wall Street co-stars don't seem to have the same opinion.

In fact, Leonardo DiCaprio was so impressed by one of them that he asked the actor to incorporate it into the flick - and unknowingly created one of the most iconic scenes in the three-hour movie.

Forget Margot Robbie's seduction techniques or Jonah Hill's hilarious remarks, as it's McConaughey thumping his chest and humming in a swanky restaurant which goes down as one of the best snippets in history.

During an appearance on Tom Segura and Bert Kreischer's 2 Bears 1 Cave podcast last week, the Texas-born screen star revealed the incredible story behind how it all happened.

In the film, McConaughey plays the eccentric senior stockbroker Mark Hanna, who acts as something of a mentor to Jordan Belfort (DiCaprio) as he starts out on Wall Street.

The pair meet up at one point and Hanna shares some secrets to success with his protégé - such as that masturbating and using cocaine regularly will see him right.

McConaughey explained that they had completed around five takes of the scene and were getting ready to move on when DiCaprio brought filming to an abrupt halt.

Matthew McConaughey revealed he was the inspiration behind the chest thumping scene (YouTube/YMHStudios)

The actor said: "Leonardo goes, 'Hang on Marty'. And then he goes to me, 'What's that thing you're doing before the scene?'

"I was doing the chest pump.

"It was a thing I do before scenes in different rhythms - to relax, get myself out of my head, find the rhythm - you don't want to come in [to the scene] thinking.

"I'm stepping into a Scorcese movie, I'm a one day worker, I got nerves, it helps get rid of anxiety."

McConaughey had been performing the almost-meditative ritual for a while by this point to clear his head and prepare his voice.

"So I told him, that's what I'm doing it for," he went on.

"He [DiCaprio] said, 'What if you do that in the scene? In the next take, switch it into the movie'."

And that, ladies and gentleman, is the origin story of the iconic The Wolf of Wall Street thump and hum - that a lot of us have recreated more times than we'd care to admit.

The actor explained DiCaprio had spotted him doing it before they began shooting (Paramount Pictures)

As viewers will know, DiCaprio also used the move in a later scene after he announces he is 'not f**king leaving' his stockbrokers.

McConaughey went on to say that actors consider it an 'honour' and a 'compliment' when their ideas are used, so kudos to DiCaprio for setting the wheels in motion.

Speaking to LADbible in 2022, the How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days star explained he was left stunned by the impact his pre-shoot ritual had on viewers.

"I mean, it's music," he said. "I love music and I think part of my performances and what I try to bring to these characters is a different type of music, tone, inflection, how they speak, what their words are.

"And you know, that was so out-there, and Wolf of Wall Street and that scene is so out-there. Then it comes back at the end of the scene, then Leo uses it later in the movie.

"It was all so odd, but so rhythmically right-on, you're like, 'That scene couldn't have been anything else, but where in the hell did that come from?!'

"It's funny. It's anarchic. It's inconsiderate. But it's empowering at the same time, and it's fun."