In an interview with professional tennis player Nick Kyrgios, American actor Matthew McConaughey explained how he broke away from his label as a romantic comedy actor.
Matthew McConaughey has long been confined to roles in rom-coms and romantic comedies. To get out of it, he decided to make a firm decision, in agreement with his ex-wife.
After having appeared in numerous comedies of the genre, such as “A Marriage Too Perfect” (2001), “How to Get Dumped in Ten Lessons” (2003), “Playboy to Seize” (2006), or “The Love of 'gold' (2008), Matthew McConaughey wanted to break away from this label of “light” actor. To do this, he decided to move to Texas until Hollywood offered him a different role.
“I'm being a jerk…and all because I said yes to too many things”
He explained on Nick Kyrgios' microphone why he did this: “Look, the devil hides in the infinite yeses, not in the noes! “No” is as important, if not more so. Particularly when you have a certain level of success and influence. “No” becomes more important than “yes”. Because, we can all look around us and see the fact that we let ourselves go by saying “I'm being stupid…. and all because I said yes to too many things”. »
The one who notably received an Oscar for his performance in “Dallas Buyers Club” (2014) continues by explaining his behavior: “When I was successful in rom-coms and I was the “rom-com guy”, it was was my thing and I loved it. I was paid well and it worked. I was so good at this thing that everything that came out of it, like drama and things I wanted to do, were like, “No, no, no. No, McConaughey. You should stay in your place.” So since I couldn't do what I wanted, I stopped doing what I was doing. And I moved to Texas, to a ranch.”
Teacher, transport driver or wildlife guide?
Without tongue in cheek, Matthew McConaughey admits to having doubted and having feared the worst for his career: “I told myself that I was going to teach in high schools, that I would have to learn to become a driver, that I was going to end up as a wildlife guide. I withdrew from Hollywood, I withdrew from my guideline, the one that Hollywood told me not to leave. I thought the industry would say, “Well, fuck off!” It was terrifying, the days were long, I knew the meaning of insignificance. But I had convinced myself that this was what I had to do so I wasn’t going to give up. But it was scary because I didn’t know if I was going to leave this desert.”
Ultimately, the actor's idea paid off and many directors sought his services for films that were the polar opposite of his first romantic comedies. He therefore welcomes this decision: “This decision was probably seen as a rebellious idea against Hollywood because it sent the signal “he’s really not bluffing”. And when we see someone who isn't bluffing, we can see something attractive in it. That's what made Hollywood say, 'You know what? This is a new idea. This is the right idea.'”
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