Matthew McConaughey looks to his dad for inspiration for new film Gold

When preparing to play a real life character, Matthew McConaughey thinks it's equally important to take from the facts and the folklore of this person. 

In this case, that person is David Walsh, a Canadian businessman best known for being the founder and CEO of the Bre-X mining company. It's what McConaughey's new film, Gold, is all about. 

But as much as studying Walsh's history was important for McConaughey, the actor also looked for inspiration in his own life — specfically his father. 

"I looked at my own life, at the David Walshes that I knew growing up," McConaughey recalls. "My father was a pipe and cufflinks salesman in Northeast Texas and his time was spent on the phone, peddling pipes [...] We were taught early on, you better be a good salesman, you better be able to hustle."

In the end, both fact and fiction helped McConaughey put together the role of Kenny Wells in the film (Walsh's name was changed). 

"The facts don't really tell the story," he continues. "Sometimes there's more truth in an impression of a character than there is in the actual close-up and understanding of a character."