Matthew McConaughey might be one of the most surprising and sustaining actors we have today. He’s been enjoyable in everything from his top standout performances to his beloved place in some classic rom-coms. Along the way, the 55-year-old realized that to sustain his career and peace of mind, something had to change. And he realized what had to change was his relationship with the whole industry, including leaving Hollywood for Texas.
The Interstellar alum was on the Good Trouble with Nick Kyrgios show recently where he chatted with Kyrgios about his career, life perspective, and other endeavors outside of Tinseltown. When asked about how he stays true to himself, the actor revealed the realization he had before moving to the Lone Star state. He shared:
Look, man, the devil’s in the infinite yeses, not the nos. ‘No’ is just as important, if not more important. Especially if you have some level of success and access. ‘No’ becomes more important than ‘yes.’ Because, I mean, we can all look around and see we’ve over-leveraged our life with yeses and going, ‘Geez, oh man. I’m making C-minuses and all this shit in my life because I said yes to too many things.’
McConaughey sharing his realization of the power of ‘No’ and uprooting everything that wasn’t working in his life is very important because it worked. The public saw this shift when he won an Oscar for Dallas Buyers Club and the speech he gave in 2014. He may have never been nominated if he stayed put.
The Mud star went on to share that it was in fact the fun flirty stuff being the tip of the iceberg pushing him to question everything and not get boxed into any space. He said of his time being the ‘rom-com dude’:
When I was rolling with the rom-coms, and I was the ‘rom-com dude,’ that was my lane and I liked that lane. That lane paid well, and it was working. But I was so strong in that lane that anything outside that lane – dramas and stuff that I wanted to do – were like, ‘No, no, no. No, McConaughey.’ Hollywood said, ’No, no, no. You should stay there.’
I’m glad that he had the foresight that even though it paid well, it wasn’t his end goal, and moved on. It very much seems like Hollywood wouldn’t have given him the chance to explore many other roles so he made the move out of California.
I didn’t want to. So, since I couldn’t do what I wanted to do, I stopped doing what I was doing, and I moved down to the ranch in Texas. I went down there, made a pact with my wife, and said ‘I’m not going back to work unless I get offered roles I want to do.’
Again, McConaughey’s choice paved a better way for himself in the long run, which is pretty cool, and a great model for future generations. Although it was seemingly a fully positive move, his wife Camila Alves shared some varied thoughts on leaving their Malibu home. All in all, though, I think they’re doing alright, especially with this fun throwback ad for their Tequila.
The Sing alum isn’t alone in forging a path that works for him. Amongst the stars that have left the land of stars are Modern Family’s brainy middle child Alex, played by Ariel Winter, along with Glen Powell, who made the choice because of the Dazed and Confused alum’s advice. It’s becoming increasingly more common for stars to leave the busyness of the city behind.
Where will the Texas resident’s career go next, who knows. One thing is certain though it’ll be a decision he believes in and wants to make. Hopefully one of those choices will be committing to a beloved rom-com sequel of his.