It’s been a decade since Matthew McConaughey left Hollywood to move back to Texas with his wife Camila Alves and their three children. This came as a shock to many, as McConaughey was at the peak of his acting career at the time.
In a new interview, McConaughey is opening up about why he moved back to Texas with his family in 2014.
McConaughey Reveals Why He Left Hollywood For Texas
Before winning the Oscar for Best Actor for the 2013 movie Dallas Buyers Club, McConaughey found himself being relegated to being the “rom-com dude.”
McConaughey became so tired of this typecasting that he turned down an unnamed action comedy film that would have garnered him a $14.5 million salary. He then relocated from Los Angeles to a ranch in Austin, Texas, where he still lives with his family to this day.
“When I was rolling off the rom-coms. And I was the rom-com dude, man. That was my lane, and I liked that lane. That lane paid well and it was working,” McConaughey said while being interviewed by the tennis star Nick Kyrgios on the “Good Trouble” podcast.
“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,” he continued. “I didn’t want to. So, since I couldn’t do what I wanted to do, I stopped doing what I was doing.”
McConaughey’s Pact With His Wife
That’s why McConaughey opted for a simpler life on his ranch in Texas. At the time, he made a pact with his wife Alves.
“I went down there and I made a pact with my wife and said, ‘I’m not going back to work unless I get offered roles I want to do,'” he explained.
McConaughey admitted that it felt “rebellious” to turn down the $14.5 million role in the unnamed action comedy film.
“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 [expletive] bluffing,” he added. “And when you got someone who’s not bluffing, there’s something attractive about that. I think that’s what made Hollywood go, ‘You know what? He’s now a new novel idea. He’s a new bright idea.'”
Related: Matthew McConaughey Reveals Why He Always Planned To Ditch Hollywood For Texas
McConaughey’s Risk Pays Off
McConaughey believes that this is what led to him being cast in Dallas Buyers Club, which won him his Oscar. To this day, McConaughey has kept his promise to his wife and only takes roles that appeal to him. When he’s not working, he’s perfectly happy to be on his ranch in Texas with his family.
“Look, man, the devil’s in the infinite yeses, not the no’s. No, it’s just as important, if not more important,” McConaughey explained. “Especially if you have some level of success and access.”
“No becomes more important than yes,” he stated. “Because, I mean, we all look around and see we’ve over-leveraged our life with yeses and gone, geez, oh, man, I’m making C minuses and all that [expletive] in my life because I said yes to too many things.”
Check out McConaughey’s full comments on this in the video below.
Related: Matthew McConaughey Offers Son Some Powerful Advice On His 16th Birthday
McConaughey Gushes Over Texas
Last month, McConaughey gushed over Texas, saying that his family has a better sense of “security” there.
“This has always been home, I mean, there’s multiple reasons for [the move],” he said. “I mean, this is where I have a great relationship with time – meaning 60 seconds feels like a minute, a mile feels like a mile.”
“I like to live in a place and for a home to be a place where I have a good relationship with time,” McConaughey continued.
McConaughey has long been known as one of the most down-to-earth stars working in movies today. In the end, it’s clear that he made the right choice in moving far away from Hollywood for a better life in Texas. Perhaps more stars should consider doing the same thing!
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