'My father's watching from heaven!' Matthew McConaughey praises family in heartfelt speech as he scoops Best Actor Oscar

He is a straight talking Southern gent.
And Matthew McConaughey managed to mix laughter and profundity in equal measure as he delivered a heartfelt speech after winning the best actor Oscar.
It completed a clean sweep after he previously won a Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Award for his turn as Ron Woodruff in Dallas Buyers Club.

Southern gentleman: Matthew McConaughey praised his family after winning the best actor Oscar

And it was when the emotional star gave a shout out to his departed parent James that he delivered his most memorable line, insisting he was watching over him from
heaven with a beer in his hand.
The 44-year-old said: 'First off, I want to thank God because that's who I look up. He's graced my life with opportunities.
'He's shown me that it's a scientific fact that gratitude reciprocates.
'To my family is to what I look forward to. To my father who I know is up there right now with a big pot of gumbo, he has a big lemon meringue pie over there.
'He's probably in his underwear and has a big can of Miller Lite and he's dancing right now. To you dad, you taught me how to be a man. 

Matthew McConaughey scoops Best Actor, thanks parents

Love of his life: He shared a lingering kiss with wife Camila Alves after he was named best actor

Touching moment: Perennial loser Leonardo DiCaprio embraced his rival following his win

Hugging it out: And when he finally made it onstage he gave award presenter Jennifer Lawrence a warm embrace

'To my mother [Mary] who's here tonight, who taught me and my two older brothers -- demanded -- that we respect ourselves. And in turn we were able to learn how to respect others. Thank you for that mama.'
And he had to fight back tears as he thanked his model wife Camila Alves and their sons Levi, six, Livingston, two, and four-year-old daughter Vida.
He said: 'You are the four people in my life that I want to make the most proud of me. Thank you.'

Overjoyed: The delighted star was beaming as he held his well-deserved prize in front of his peers

This is for you: The delighted Texan delivered an uplifting speech where he acknowledged his family and fans

Matthew shared a lingering kiss with his other half when his name was announced, and he was clearly overwhelmed despite being the odds-on favourite.
It was a successful night for Dallas Buyers Club, with his co-star Jared Leto also winning in the best supporting actor category.
And it completes an amazing transition for Matthew, who at one stage in his career seemed doomed to be typecast as a romantic leading man after a string of such hits in the 2000s.
In recent years he has challenged himself in more serious roles, winning acclaim for The Lincoln Lawyer Mud, and his HBO TV series True Detective.

The gospel according to Matthew: He praised god before encouraging people to chase their dreams

He needs a hero: The actor said he still had not become the figure he hoped to be as a young man

And he talked about having a constant drive to better himself, a quality that surely helped him step out of his comfort zone.
he said: 'When I was 15 years old I had a very important person in my life come and ask me 'Who's your hero
'I said, "I thought about it and it's me in ten years. So I turned 25 ten years later and that same person comes to me and goes, 'Are you a hero?' I said, 'Not even close!'
'She said why and I said, 'My hero is me at 35.' You see, every day, and every week, and every month, and every year of my life my hero is always ten years away. I'm never going to be my hero.

Ladies first: The Southern gentleman let Cate Blanchett and Lupita Nyong'o stand between him and co-star Jared Leto as the winner's posed backstage

Joining the Club: Matthew and his co-star looked delighted after scooping the prestigious paperweights

Backstage romance: The affection was obvious as he met with his other half after collecting his award

Trophy wife: And Camilla gave her Oscar-winning man a lingering kiss to make his dream night even better

'I'm not going to obtain that and that's fine with me because it keeps me with somebody to keep on chasing.
'So to any of us, whatever those things are and whatever it is we look up to, whatever it is we look forward to and whoever it is we're chasing, to that I say alright, alright, alright. And just keep living. You know? Thank you.'
The latter two phrases were of course call backs to his breakthrough role as ladies man stoner David Wooderson 1993 coming of age comedy Dazed And Confused.
In Dallas Buyers Club he plays an HIV positive man who evolves from detestable bigot to a lifeline for fellow AIDS patients, with many of them the gay or transgender people he once would have despised.
At the same time he fights for his own life at a time when doctors were scrambling to find effective treatments for the fatal disease.

Family affair: He had also brought along his former model mother Mary along as his other Oscars date

Glamour couple: The handsome pair turned heads as they walked the pre-show red carpet

Daddy cool: He made sure he mentioned their their sons Levi, six, Livingston, two, and four-year-old daughter Vida

DM