McConaughey Takes Owen Wilson Film Role

Actor Matthew McConaughey watches a boxing match on May 5, 2007, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. McConaughey is taking Owen Wilson's role in the comedy film "Tropic Thunder." Wilson dropped out of the DreamWorks movie after an apparent suicide attempt last month. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong) (Jae C. Hong - AP)

LOS ANGELES -- Matthew McConaughey is taking Owen Wilson's role in the comedy film "Tropic Thunder." Wilson dropped out of the DreamWorks movie after an apparent suicide attempt last month.

"Tropic Thunder," which is filming in Hawaii, stars Ben Stiller, Jack Black, Robert Downey Jr., Nick Nolte, Bill Hader and Steve Coogan. Stiller is also directing.

McConaughey, 37, has an uncredited cameo in the movie, his publicist, Nicole Perez, said Wednesday.

"Tropic Thunder" is about a group of actors who gather on a remote island to shoot a big-budget war movie and are forced to become the soldiers they are playing.

Ina Treciokas, publicist for Wilson, didn't immediately return a telephone message seeking information on the actor's recovery.

Wilson, 38, was taken by ambulance to a hospital after police responded to a call from his Santa Monica home. The day after he was hospitalized, Wilson issued a statement asking for privacy so he could "receive care and heal."

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DreamWorks is a division of Viacom Inc.