6 Surprising Non-YouTube Stars on YouTube

As we’ve all learned from his Lincoln commercials, Matthew McConaughey is a mysterious man — and adding to his mystery is the recent discovery that, in addition to being an actor, family man, and existential driver, he is also a secret YouTuber … or he was until yesterday, when Reddit boosted him to Internet fame.

McConaughey started the day with a verified account and 240 subscribers, and ended the day with 8,000. By Friday morning, Aug. 19, his followers had jumped to nearly 43,000, according to Vanity Fair. In honor of his newfound stardom, here’s a roundup of the best non-Youtube stars who are, indeed, on YouTube. Since he’s the man of the hour, McConaughey comes first.

The Dallas Buyers Club star has always spoken his mind, and his mind is a magical place motivated by his catch phrase (and his foundation name) “Just Keep Living.” The more he gives rambling commencement and award-acceptance speeches, the more the world loves him. So it’s hard to imagine how his easy-to-watch (i.e. short) YouTube videos didn’t catch fire right away. (Though for full disclosure, they had millions of views on other platforms, including Facebook and WhoSay.)

In the videos, McConaughey focuses on promoting causes that are close to his heart, imploring viewers to lend their support. Last fall, he shared a video on behalf of I Am Waters, in which a stripped-down, shorn-haired McConaughey asks the rest of us to be decent people and do the right thing.

“With Thanksgiving coming up, I want to remind you as I remind myself that we still have millions of homeless people across America, and one of the things that a lot of them can’t get their hands on, that I think is a necessity, is clean, safe drinking water. And the folks here at I Am Waters provide the homeless with that necessity: clean water,” he begins. “If you click on the site here, give what you can, $5, $1, whatever you can give, it’s going to help the folks at I Am Waters get that clean water to the people who can’t get it themselves.” The father of two ends, as usual, on a gracious note. “Thanks for listening to me. Have a great November. Happy Thanksgiving. Have a rockin’ 2015. Be safe. Have some fun. And just keep on living.” Will do, Matthew.

Amy Poehler

From the Upright Citizens Brigade to Saturday Night Live to Parks and Recreation, Amy Poehler has shown herself to be a comedic mastermind, but she’s more than just a funny girl — she’s also a feminist. In an effort to spread her message that’s sort of a cross between “Women helping women” and your standard “girl power,” the mother of two, along with producer Meredith Walker, created the YouTube series Smart Girls, which “is dedicated to helping young people cultivate their authentic selves.”

The posts vary in style, but (like McConaughey’s) they’re generally short and sweet, and spread a message that’s close to Poehler’s heart, even if they don’t regularly feature her. A recent post called simply, “How to Apologize” features comedy writer Amy Aniobi explaining the basics of what to do when you royally screwed up. There’s no fancy effects. No catchy music. Just straightforward, solid advice like your mother would give… if she knew how to create a YouTube video.

“A lot of being an adult is taking ownership of what you’ve done, whether it’s right or wrong,” Aniobi explains. “We apologize in person for texting; we apologize by text for being a person.” (See? It’s educational and funny!) If it’s a big offense, “You’ve gotta do it in person,” she urges — “And don’t do that ‘I’m sorry if you’re offended’ thing because it basically means ‘I’m sorry if you’re offended, and I’m not sorry if you’re not.’ That’s not an apology.” She has a point. “Most important of all, ask your friend, foe, family member, or pet for forgiveness.” Yes, your pet. And this is just one more reason why Poehler is awesome.

Karlie Kloss

Yes, she’s a Victoria’s Secret angel and bona fide supermodel, but Karlie Kloss is also a phenomenal YouTuber. Unlike many other stars, Kloss’s videos don’t focus on a single topic, but run the gamut from silly to serious. Two recent videos included how to make three-ingredient pancakes and how to unbox Kode (Kode is part of Karlie’s initiative to get women involved involved in computer programming). The one constant in all of her videos, however, is the bubbly Kloss speaking to the camera with a big, bright smile.

Her pancake video educated just under 500,000 people on how to make delicious breakfast treats with eggs, banana, and gluten-free oats (though she added cinnamon and vanilla to hers, which upped the ingredient count to five). She also mentioned that she loves coconut oil for both cooking and slathering on her body … so there was that.

Hayley Williams

Paramore singer Hayley Williams took to YouTube for Kiss Off, which she described as a “beauty and music” show that is focused on creative things that she finds personally inspiring. The videos begin with a fresh-faced Hayley (“fresh-faced” = not wearing makeup) and shows how her makeup artist creates various stageworthy looks for her. For the most part, the videos clock in under five minutes and take inspiration from rock and movie icons, like the lead characters from a random early ’80s film called Ladies and Gentlemen, the Fabulous Stains, starring Diane Lane. In other words, in addition to makeup tutorials, Williams provides an education in cinema history. If that’s not rockin’, we don’t know what is.

Russell Brand

Remember Russell Brand?! The Get Him to the Greek star took to YouTube for a series called The Trews in which the comedian waxes poetic on current political events with his signature snark.

“Hey, Americans, you think it would be better if Donald Trump was in charge,” he begins with a smile before the video cuts to a segment of Trump on David Letterman. “Donald Trump’s in the headlines at the moment, because he’s being very vocal about getting a border fence between Mexico and what, until recently, was Mexico also.” Brand then took a moment to laugh at his own joke. “In history, have there been any really positive things that have come out of fences and walls?” he asked. “The Berlin Wall, that one that runs between Palestine and Israel, that one in Northern Ireland,” he mused. “Yeah, fences and walls!” he cheered from his bed, where he filmed the video.

“He can’t even build his own hair properly. Even the structure of his head looks a bit fragile,” Brand adds. We’re not sure “fragile” is the right word, but we get what Brand was going for — and regardless of your own political persuasions, it’s hard not to laugh at his pointed observations about what’s Trew and what’s maybe not so Trew.