2) Matthew McConaughey
Alright. Anyone who watched this past season of True Detective is surely aware of Matthew McConaughey’s intimidating yet soothing use of the word “motherfucker.” Coming from his lips, it seems as much a term of endearment as it is a sign of aggressive antagonism. He has just the right voice—which is only improving with age—to make any bit of dialogue sound like some kind of sexy stoner cowboy poetry, and he does it all with the most earnest look on his face to indicate he believes what he’s saying 100%.
While Senator Clay Davis from The Wire may have a monopoly on the word “shiiiiit,” McConaughey might hold second place. Regardless, it’s his preferred pronunciation of “motherfucker” that earns him a spot on this completely arbitrary list. He doesn’t always use it, but when it does, it stands out. I think it’s the hardness of the R’s. It stands in contrast with the Sam Jackson-style “mothafucka” and really stresses the errr-ness of the near-rhyme. Just one of those things, I guess, that makes McConaughey an enigmatically magnetic screen presence.