Matthew McConaughey made a very deliberate decision when he stepped away from his romantic-comedy era in film. It was a lucrative part of his career, so he knew he was taking a risk by telling Hollywood that he wasn’t available for those roles anymore.
The 55-year-old actor explained his major career decision on the Wednesday, Nov. 20 episode of Good Trouble with Nick Kyrgios. “That was my lane, and I liked that lane. That lane paid well, and it was working,” he shared. “But the lane was… I was so strong in that lane that anything outside of that lane, dramas and stuff that I wanted to do, were like, ‘No, no, no, no, no McConaughey.’ Hollywood said ‘No, no, no, no, you should stay there, stay there.’ ”
At some point, he realized he had to get off the rom-com merry-go-round if he wanted to feel creatively fulfilled. That’s when he approached his wife, Camila Alves McConaughey, with a proposition. “‘I’m not going back to work unless I get offered roles I want to do,'” he told her. Still, the pause in his career made his finances “wobbly” for two years. Yet he was so serious about making the move to dramatic films that he turned down an action comedy that would have paid him a whopping $14.5 million.
“I think that was the one that was probably what was seen as the most rebellious move in Hollywood by me because it really sent the signal, ‘He ain’t f—ing bluffing,’ ” McConaughey admitted. “I think that’s what made Hollywood go, ‘You know what? He’s now a new novel idea. He’s a new bright idea.’ “
McConaughey turned his career from successful rom-coms like The Wedding Planner, How to Lose A Guy In 10 Days and Failure to Launch into critically acclaimed roles. He dove into Lincoln Lawyer, Mud and Dallas Buyers Club which proved his efforts were worth it — he even has that coveted Best Actor Oscar on his bookshelf. That satisfactory move is why Closer Weekly is also claiming he might take another career pivot and return to do at least one more rom-com.
“Matthew has his Oscar, he’s a household name, and as he approaches his golden years, he’s letting his hair down again and you’re seeing that fraternity brother, college party boy side of his personality more and more,” a source revealed in June. “His natural state is being fit, happy, and ready for the next party. It’s just who he is and it’s actually lovely to see that side rise to the top again and define his personal life and, potentially, his professional life.”
So, get ready for another chapter in McConaughey’s career became the light-hearted side is prepared to shine.
Before you go, click here to see the most romantic movie kisses you’ll wish would happen to you IRL.
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