Matthew McConaughey squared off with ram to save son

Matthew McConaughey saved his infant son from a mountain ram by tossing him off a ledge to his wife Camila Alves.

Around the time of his 40th birthday the Dallas Buyers Club star and Camila took their then six-month-old son Levi and their dog B.J. on vacation to the Grand Canyon in Arizona. However, their family day out was interrupted by an angry male sheep.

Recalling the tale as part of a 'True Confessions' game with U.S. late night host Jimmy Fallon and The Roots frontman Black Thought, Matthew said he was "charged" by a "mountain ram" and had to throw little Levi off a ledge to Camila.

The Texan actor was then quizzed by Jimmy and Tarik on the details of his story as they tried to establish whether he was telling the truth.

Confirming the story was "100 per cent true", Matthew said that while Camila managed to "scatter" and escape, he, his dog, and Levi were left trapped - meaning he had to throw the dog and his son to safety while taking on the woolly menace himself.

"I had already got rid of the dog, I had to launch Levi through the air for my wife to catch so we didn't get rammed off the edge," he said, adding that he then tried to cower behind a small cherry blossom bush as the animal readied itself to attack.

Realising he had to face up to the "alpha" male sheep or it would attack him, the star tried a different method, as he explained: "I squared off and tried to go as Yoda as I could with this ram and just say, 'Not me, whatever it is.'"

The 48-year-old went on to say that he later realised the terrifying incident happened because he had come between the ram and his herd of ewes.

"So we were between him and all his ladies and he didn't want any other male scent on his mountain," the actor added, going on to reveal that he politely told the ram: "Your mountain, sir" before making his escape.