Recently, Oscar-winner Matthew McConaughey commented on his drastic move to abandon the overused stereotype that made him famous in the industry. During an episode of the Good Trouble Podcast with athlete Nick Kyrgios, McConaughey explained how he reached a turning point in his career when he decided to ignore offers that didn’t meet his expectations. He reflected on his efforts to break free from the rom-com typecast.
According to McConaughey, any achievement that is rewarded with a series of options for the future, the ‘yes’ syndrome, only leads to mediocrity. He said one of the most important skills when growing personally is being able to set boundaries with yourself and others.
The Interstellar star said, “If you have some level of success and access, the ‘no’ becomes more important than the yes. Because, I mean, we all look around and see what we’ve done with the yes.” Have taken more advantage of life and gone, Oh my God, oh, man, I’m getting a C-minus in my life and all that nonsense because I said yes to too many things.”
As for his performances in the romantic comedies The Wedding Planner and How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, McConaughey reflected on his career prospects during that time and does not regret that stage as it was profitable and enjoyable. But gradually he began to get bored of being typecast as a “rom-com dude”, as he was not challenged enough in that restrictive lane of romantic comedy, and it was time for a dramatic change.
He said, “I was so strong in that lane that anything outside that lane, drama and stuff I wanted to do was, no, no, no, no, no, not McConaughey. Hollywood said, no, no. , No, no, you must stay there, stay there.”
Aware that Hollywood had a certain view of him, McConaughey resolved not to be influenced by stereotypes. McConaughey said, “I didn’t want to. So, since I couldn’t do what I wanted to do, I stopped doing what I was doing.”
He and his wife, Camila Alves McConaughey, were living on their ranch in Texas when he decided to swear that he would take no further roles unless he wanted to. For approximately twenty-four months he rejected all offers and attention as everything was an attempt to take his career in a new direction.
During this period, McConaughey turned down several notable offers, including an action comedy role for which he was offered US$14.5 million because it did not appeal to him. The Sing actor mused, “I think that was probably what I saw as the most rebellious move in Hollywood because it really signaled that he was not going to cheat.” This move changed the way the industry looked at him over time.
However, the process was long and difficult, but for Matthew McConaughey, it was worth the wait. He got the opportunity to act in highly grossing and successful films like Mud, Interstellar and Dallas Buyers Club, the latter of which won him the Best Actor Oscar in 2014.
Also read: Matthew McConaughey has a new nickname thanks to Deadpool and Wolverine; Deets Inside
