Matthew McConaughey Thought About Leaving Hollywood to Become a Teacher
Matthew McConaughey revealed in an interview with Glen Powell for Interview magazine that, during a phase when he was only landing romantic comedy roles, he seriously considered leaving Hollywood and trying different careers like teaching or becoming a wildlife guide. The actor, known for his roles in “The Wedding Planner” and ”How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days,” expressed that the limited scope of roles offered to him led him to step away from the film industry for two years. McConaughey described this period as frightening and discussed it with his wife, contemplating significant career changes. Eventually, he realized that taking a break was necessary to diversify his roles and allow Hollywood to miss him, which he saw as beneficial in hindsight.
Matthew McConaughey admitted he considered quitting Hollywood altogether — and finding another vocation like teaching — during a time in his career when he was only getting romantic comedy roles.
Speaking to actor Glen Powell for Interview magazine, the 54-year-old actor said he left Hollywood for two years to figure out what he wanted to do when he only seemed able to get roles in movies like the “Wedding Planner” and “How to Lose a Guy in 10 days.”
“I’ve usually zigged when I felt like Hollywood wanted me to zag,” McConaughey said. “When I had my rom-com years, there was only so much bandwidth I could give to those, and those were some solid hits for me. But I wanted to try some other stuff. Of course, I wasn’t getting it, so I had to leave Hollywood for two years.”
“Dude it was scary. I had long talks with my wife about needing to find a new vocation,” he added.”‘I think I’m going to teach high school classes. I think I’m going to study to be a conductor. I think I’m going to go be a wildlife guide.’”
Hollywood’s latest leading man @glenpowell joins fellow Texas boy @McConaughey to discuss the secrets behind movie stardom for our summer issue 🎬https://t.co/nzvRjOHH33 pic.twitter.com/MybpAgSQ4f
— Interview Magazine (@InterviewMag) June 18, 2024
“The Gentlemen” star said leaving was scary but looking back he can see that the departure was necessary to make Hollywood miss him.
“I don’t know about you, but for me, going back to ‘A Time to Kill,‘ after I first had a big success in a major studio picture and became famous, I remembered that the Thursday before that movie opened, there’s 100 scripts out there that I would’ve done, and 99 of them I could not book,” McConaughey said.
“Over that one weekend, 99 noes became 99 yeses. I was like, ‘What? Three days ago, I’d have done any of these! And now you’re asking me which one I want to do?’ he added. “It was a hell of a shocking thing.”
After his last rom-com in the 2009 “Ghosts of Girlfriends Past,” he started getting more serious roles like “The Lincoln Lawyer” in 2011 and won his first Oscar in 2014 for his part in the “Dallas Buyers Club.”
Powell, the “Top Gun: Maverick” star recently talked about moving out of the “fishbowl” to be closer to his family because he’s gotten to “this point in Hollywood” that he can leave, saying it’s like he’s “earned the ability to go back” to his family and home in Texas, as previously reported.
McConaughey, who lives in Texas with his wife Camila and their three kids, told Powell he could relate.
“Once I felt like I was in Hollywood, I felt comfortable enough to go back home,” the actor said. “You can really be an honest observer of humans in Texas.”
“It’s tough to do that in Hollywood, because everyone’s a voyeur,” he added. “Instead of going someplace to eat, a lot of Hollywood’s going to that place to see who’s coming to that place to eat.”
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