INTERVIEW: Matthew McConaughey Talks Spirituality, Cynicism, Ditching Romcoms For Dramas, Poems, Prayers + More

ready to say, okay, that's how it is? And I think this doubt crept in on me. I started to say, well, maybe that's just how it is. That scared me, and then thankfully it then pissed me off, and I said, no, no, no, no, no, I'm not ready to wave the white flag here and

concede and say that's the way things are going. So since I wasn't finding belief in reality and evidence, I said, you know what, I'm going to go to dreams and ideals, poems, prayers and say, you know, let's not forget that beginner's my McConaughey, and let's grab a hold of those ideals

and try to make those a reality. And because you know, that's cynicism, I'd always swore to myself, you know, you born, you're innocent, then you're naive, then you're skeptical because you learn some things and you're discerning and make some decisions. The next step, though, seems to be when we go over the cliff to being cynical, doubting people, not giving the benefit of the doubt. You start doing that enough,

you know what happens. You look in the mirror, you do the same damn thing with yourself, and so it's an early early death. And so that's what I found myself getting. So I went to poems to prayers.

For me, I'm working on my belief in God. But I think if anybody believes in their better self, their kids, or if you don't know what to believe in, I'll like say, ask yourself, who are what you die for? Start there. It's a good spot, probably what you would be living more for, you know, double down on that bet.

And but you know, as a believer myself in God, I've got a hunch and I'm playing for a you know, trying to cross an immortal, immortal finish line more than just the ones that are you can win right here?

out Lost Bus the same time. Don't we parlay that situation hit the road, talk about poems and prayers, do some shows, which I did my first show last night in Brooklyn, and at the same time talk about the lost bus. If you snap after you did your phone, I don't think I had any snaps.

light flex you did. That's just nothing right.

of chords down. He wrote some songs. Wow. Yeah, it was neat.

you for having the courage to go. It is on you, because I got too many people relying on fate alone, and it is a combination. And I don't think that, you know, we self, reliance and faith usually are talk out. We can't. They butt heads and I don't my hunches. They don't that it's both. You know, it's free will and it's fate. And while you know we do something, is it already written divinely? Maybe? But do we have

something to do with it? And do we need to have our hands on the wheel with the choices we make? And they are up to us? I believe so as well.

that mean? And I want it to be more than just ingrained in me, like like getting married. I didn't want to ask Camilla to get married because it's that thing to do. I want to wait until I felt like, Okay, now that's a covenant I want to I want to make with God and Camilla and we want to go forward, and I want to take that adventure forward. So the same thing with faith. I've questioned it along the way. And I love philosophy and I love science, you know

what I mean. And I'm not sure with the Bible what to do with the burn and bush, But there's a whole lot of ethics and ways to live and approach life and signpost in it that whether you're agnostic, whether you believe or not, there's a lot of great things to find in that book, as well as the Koran and many other books. So I've questioned my faith along the way.

a micro climate cloud come over this little cabin. I was in the desert. This was on Mother's Day. It was eighty two degrees at noon and at two pm this cloud came over. It rained, it held, it snowed on me. In a one hundred yard circumference around the cabin. I was at white snow two inches deep in lightning bolts. What you found Mother's Day?

it happened on top of me. And that was right at the time I went out and again the lightning bolt at the time when I'm saying I don't believe bam wow, And I went, oh, excuse me, maybe I need to Oh, I'm here. I hear you, I hear you, you know, And he was saying, just checking in on you, big boy. Thought you you got it going. I appreciate it. Don't get too big for your brushes. So that I've had it that way, I've had it other times. We're just look, I mean you haven't you have your first child, wife,

you're his first child. You want to talk about believe the birth? Yeah, and sit there. I'm going to hear in a whale cry or hearing your dog on kids in the other room laughing together. You see God and your woman, you see God and your wife like that? Right? What the how did you do talk about miracles? How did you do that? How did that? How do you have that ability? And then you know there's all that people. I don't know if there's a better word for it.

There's enough coincidences that happened where you're like, you know what, man, it was a mystery going forward, but now looking back, there's a science that adds up that I did not have anything to do with that choice that happened, and I got the I got grace enough times where I'm like, Okay, I got nothing to do with that, Matt. That wasn't my choice. And some things lined up and in ways

that were more than just coincidence to me. And I've had times where I've taken trips, you know when and off of my own twenty five days of my own, and around day fourteen had certain revelations where you know, when that truth hits you at four am solitude, it hits you soft as a butterfly, but with a lightning bolt as well, and you reminded, been reminded of some things. You know, remember that truth, even when you go back into the masses in the busy world, do not let

go of that truth, you know. So, yeah, that's what inspired truth Sleeve. Yeah, she'll come and visit, you know what I mean, if you if you want more than just to playing with her, she'll be She'll stay in your bed all night every day. You know what I mean. It's talking about truth, y'all? Not okay? Yes, yeah, yeah yeah. And she'll be there with you forever and then hang out with you your conscience and everything else, and she'll be a great friend. But she's tough. She's tough to

live with because you call you on your shit. Yes, right, you know what I mean.

I go through that and the last person I get to before I in my prayers, I got to go through rolodex myself when I'm that way, and that can take a mighty long time to find that image. And I've had many times where I'm looking in the mirror and I'm seeing another you know, and I got to sit there and hold my gaze until i can call myself on my on my bullshit, you know, and put the put the facade down. And that can take a

while to find that for me. But then I'm also happy to say I've had many days where I can look myself in the I goo, yes.

feel like I'm I'm exposing anything myself. If anything. I've had people go, Wow, that's that's ballsy of you to talk go talk about belief and grace and forgiveness in God and in the way you're doing it. I've heard that, but I don't. I don't. I don't feel like I'm being brave. I don't feel like I'm being like, oh my gosh, I really exposed myself. I mean, I think I'm talking a language that's that I know it's true to me, and I'm hearing that it's true for others

as well. Now you'll know, man, Hollywood doesn't isn't the first one to talk about belief in religion or in God, you know what I mean. But I've had wonderful times with out there with with with people that are believers that may not want to admit it publicly prayed with a bunch of them. I've got a lot of agnostic friends who do not believe, but we sit there and say,

say are graces and thank you? So, I mean, I don't know someone's asked me that, or aren't you kind of afraid to do this since you're Hollywood to go talk about God? I mean in that kind of a tabot, No, I mean it never was before for me, and I'm sure as hecking now. So I'm on my own spiritual journey trying to is that this book right, this book is therapy for me. I'm in the middle of it, going out last night and putting it on its feet and showing sharing with people and engaging back and forth.

I'm I'm finding more connection with myself as well. I'm sure you know, because I gotta strengthen my own belief I want to.

bind together and re means again, so that's unity. Now, I hear a lot of people talk about the unity is what I'm for. I'm not religious, but I'm for unity. I'm spiritual. I'm like, well, that's actually that's definition of religion. So what I think, what I try to talk to people about and remind him, is that I don't think religion is a problem. It's what man did with it along the way, and where it excluded so many, and where it became a business, and where the snake salesman

came out. And have you got reason to be skeptical people preaching some stuff and what they're selling. But don't throw religion out. Religion, I think it's all I think life's religious. It's all religious I do. But don't throw religion. Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater. Throw religion out just because mankind bastardized it along the way.

keep trying. Man, you know we're gonna you know, you don't, I don't know, I'm not I'm not. Maybe I got to I do. Maybe I got a lot further to go. I mean, if you're gonna have full faith, seems if you're gonna have full faith, that you gotta have full surrender. I ain't doing that, not yet. I got some more humility to learn on that way, if that's where I can go, But I'm not there yet to fully surrender?

Is Hollywood keeping you from doing that? Because you know when people sighed eye you, and you haven't feel.

might want to keep that to themselves. But they're not saying, dude, what are you doing? It's not like I'm going, well, we're not going to you know, let's not hire McConaughey because let's not hang out with him because because also but I mean, i think they're very, very clear, and I think I've been clear with who I am. I'm not. I'm not sitting there so excluding those people from the table if they do not believe I'm not, that's not

that's not my way, you know. So I've never said to them, well, pray for this, but we can't have dinner together. It's not what I'm saying, have no means to say that, nor do I want to. I'm saying, come on to the table. And like I said, if you're not a believer in God, find so. If you believe in sign and go. If you're not a tyrant or nihilist, you're not trying to harm people. Whatever it is you believe in. Double down on more of that science, philosophy, whatever it is.

a real vital time life, you know. And as a man, I don't think there's any time a man is more maschland than with the birth of a first child, or the heart, head, body and lays are more aligned then than ever. So my life was very vital. My work felt like I could get up and go do that tomorrow morning. It's nothing wrong with that, but I was looking for my work to challenge boy, could that be is maybe as exciting as and as vital as my

life is. And mind you, I did look in the mirror and say, be damn Glad McConaughey, that you feel like your life is more vital than your work, not the other way around. But can we get find some work that can be as vital as my life? So I wanted to do dramas. That's where the work I wanted to do. Hollywood says no, sir, stay in your lane, so I'll take pay cut. They said, I don't care, stay in your lane. So I said, all right, I can't do what I want to do. I'm gonna stop

doing what I've been doing. So went to Texas with Camilla. She's pregnant, we said, stepping out, told my agent no more rom Comma Da Da Da da. I said, okay. And I remember Camilla and I saying that this. You don't know how long you're gonna go without work. This could be a drive spell for a while. You don't win the money yet. Man, I might have just wrote myself one way money right, all right, I hear you,

and I'm going I hear you. Plus I got accomplished stuff for my own significance, and now what am I gonna do? I ain't gonna go down, and you know, start making chimes for a living, you know. So I'm I'm I'm out of them, out of rom comms. I'm I'm not on the beach anymore shirtless, which kind of looked like I was in a rom common in real life as well. Right, and uh, I got nothing coming in my agent's like, man, I hadn't heard your name

in five months, et cetera, et cetera. Damn Yeah. So now we get into twelve months where year no work. I'm starting to think maybe I did write myself one way ticket out of Hollywood. Maybe I need to look for another vocation. Maybe I'm gonna go back to law school, become a lawyer. Maybe I've become a teacher. Eighteen months go by. Check this out, and I think you'll you'll know exause what I'm talking about when I say this, This uh rom com action coming to the script comes

in eight million dollar offer. I read it. I said, no, thank you. They come back. Ten million dollar off. I said, no, thank you, they come back, twelve million dollar offer. I said, no thank you, they come back fourteen point five million dollar offer. I said, let me read that thing again. So I opened it up the same script as a million mal offer, but it was better. I can see myself making this work. Did you was turning it down? She knew everything, she knew, She thought, now, My brothers

thought I was buck. Brothers were like, what is your major malfunctional? But I had made the decision, and come on, I made the decision. There wasn't It was no negogtial wasn't going back anyway. I read it again, it was better, but I ultimately he said no thing. And I think that sent a signal after eighteen months of being out of Hollywood. Oh old McConaughey bluffing, you know what I mean. I don't know what he's doing, but he's playing offense.

He's he's turned down fourteen to five. That's not a receding move to do that. He's up to something. So you parlay that declining fourteen to five along with eighteen months, which turns to twenty months out of Hollywood, out of rom coms, not in the theater, not in your living room. All of a sudden, well, you know who'd be a novel, kind of interesting, new good idea for this drama? Killer Joe or Mud or Lincoln Lawyer now aspires club true

de TEXTI McConaughey. Wow, But only because I unbranded, because I was gone. I had to go get anonymous, you know what I mean? Yeah?

my compass grounded. It was long days, you know, without cheapness of my own stuff, but I had that as an anchor.

I it was a non negotiable. So once again, once those truths hit, as we talked about earlier, and you go, I know that's true for me in my soul, but now I'm going to re engage with the masses, and slowly that onion can get peeled and you start to go, well, I can't maybe I could, You know I didn't. It's very clear. It was like, no, this is I'm not going back on the idea that if nothing would have come at twenty months, I was not going to go

back and do what I'd done. I'd be doing something different if nothing had comes since then, I would be doing something different in my life right now. I was not going to go back. So the idea that of not flinching once you made a decision, and you can out endure a situation, and you can also seem to find after a while, like fifteen months of nothing from going out of my mind, all of a sudden kind of start to get a little honor in charge and

filled up with like the endurance of it. It's almost like, Okay, the longer this goes, I got to hunt the reward on the other sides getting bigger with every day I'm going through this penance drought. I got a feeling that that there's a bigger reward over there. I'm in this for the long game. And you know, thankfully said it all came back around. I didn't have anything to do that besides being out of Hollywood, but the offers came

in for the work I wanted to do. But making a decision, being clear on it and then saying as I I know this and projecting ahead. It's like COVID. I think, hey, we did my family did pretty good in COVID. And one of the things I think was when it came we sat down, I told the cause playing on this being this way for ten years, what damn so think it's going to be longer? And then when it is over in four years, You're like, oh shit,

I was rolling. I could have handled more. Yeah. Right, So I was thinking it could be worse than it was going to be. I was thinking that I may be in a drought and not get any offers for five years, and hell, I'm gonna have to find something else do. Well, luckily it comes in two years in WHEREK came. You know that's a psalm forty six ten. Be still and know that I am God. You just got to be still and hold it and hold it.

Sometimes you change by staying the same, and the world does this and it comes right back to the baseline that you're on going. Oh you're brand new, and you're like, no, I've been right here. I just held you know what I mean. Yeah.

in the documentary That is My Life. That scared me a little bit too, which is why I started writing. And then while I wrote Greenlight to when I'm writing Points Press, I tried been challenging myself for the last six years, going all right, you know, you go out, You're doing someone else's script, written by somebody else, directed by someone else, lends in a camera by someone else, and edited by someone else. That's for filters from your raw expression. So I was like, let's get rid of

some filters here. And who are you in life McConaughey, in this documentary where action has been called the day you were born and cuts gona be called the day you leave this life? What are you doing live in this live show where hands of time or recording it? And That's what I've been the last six years, kind of challenging myself. So I go to a book. Now if there is one filter with the book, because it's a written word the performance, right, there's no filter. That's

direct to the audience. So it was one filter. But I wanted to see if the written word and I could tell some personal stories that could be entertaining that people could see themselves in and go and then go look in there and go, you did that good job, McConaughey, or you know, here's where you could have made it even more true or better. And I wanted to need that. And so that's sort of a phase I'm in now

where I'm still doing work. What made lost bus made another one called the Ribbers of M'SI and I tell you I went back to you know, it spent six years since it acting in a role. I one forgot how much I enjoyed it, and two forgot how much it feels like a vacation because it's a singular focus. And I've been compartmentalizing more of the last six years, taking on more different things, checking out leadership roles, writing books, family,

et cetera. But the singular focus of going to act and going I'm obsessed and all I revered this craft enough to be obsessed with my man, this character. In every idle moment I've got, I've got work I can do to tell more of the truth on this character, and I give myself three months to do that. That sort of blinders. Yeah, And I think for my wife that when I go out the door every morning, she got the kids and says, don't look over your shoulder, go conquer. I got this shit handled, big, big help.

But I'm able to just singular focused when I go act and I missed. It felt like a vacation. Why didn't the Yellowstone spend off happen? So we talked about it, Taylor and I. It just never it never came to I never saw a script I wanted to see, you know what. The the idea was good, it just never got the script form. So Taylor and I continue to talk about what might be the best way to work together. So you were you were attached to it like it was actually happen. Well, I mean I was. It came out.

I'm always curious about this because it came out my attachment, which I wouldn't never signed anything. There wasn't any real attachment. It just Taylor and I creedively talking about it could be a good idea, right. But it was interesting because it came out in the news in the trades about the same time Coster's leaving, so I don't know if it was publicly put out there to sort of counterbalance.

We got the exit of our guy Gostler, who we've all known, so let's make sure it looks like we've got somebody else coming in that we can be excited about. So there was never a contract or anything. It was just he and I. He and I talking about it, and what about this Barbie sequel? You really gonna be in the Barbie? Said O, Man, I don't know. Someone came up with that. No, someone just I think American Frere,

just like who's in Lost Bus with me? I think she mentioned it on some talk show going you could be the King of Kens and he kins, I can put a font to that. Hey, let's put a picture up all of a sudden, I some of the show, he said yesterday, I'm on some show and I'm there in a white suit at Kings. That's just as real as that is. Would you do it? I don't know. It sounds like it could be fun.

whim right. Well, he kept badgering me and kept badgering me, and finally go okay, all right, so first of all, let's sit down. Let me talk you about this acting gig. This ain't you don't show up with attitude. There ain't no modeling gig. This is a rodeo man. You gotta go with soul and nobleshit in your bones. All right, So just set the table of this is a serious craft. And then we talked him for a couple of days and then he said I've got to see and I'd

love to shoot. I pulled up my phone shot him and I was like, Okay, he holds a camera, all right, he can behave honestly in front of the camera. He can even improvise. Did well? I send that to the cash and director? I said, I think this might be good enough for a callback. She writes back, I think it might be good enough to send to the director. Okay, great. Can you do me a favor and pull his last name? Because you know, forgetting nepotism? Just what if he got

the job with my last name? You're at a bar, right or he's got it thinking in his mind? Did part of the reason I got that? Because come on, that ain't a good friend. That's why we didn't name it Matthew, so it would be Matthew Jr. You know what I mean? Although Levi is another name for Matthew. We got away with that, Yeah, saying Matthew jeans post alone. Get on that way? You got your prayers in print, right? Yeah?

You know, win that oscar, get that yacht. You're going, Man, I hang on, but I ain't. Guys got better stuff to do. Man, you talk about as white collar prayers that ain't ain't working. We got to talk about what

do you need now? What you want now? I do think my definition of heaven on earth is where what you want is what you need, and what you need is what you want, Where what you actually need is what you desire, or what you desire, what you're salacious for, what you lust for is actually what you need is actually worth loving, hard place to get to. But boy, when that's when in the pocket, I think that's when

we're in the honey hole right there. You know, some people say, what could you still be praying for?

I would call better husband. I pray for the discernment to listen and try to make the choices that can feed me and my family and life going forward, to make decisions that will pay me back for the long term, for the long haul, and for the decisions that can those decisions that can pay me back also, where are those also the ones that can pay the most people back. That's the kind of things I pray for, you know.

And then I mom's ninety three, man, you know, he's awesome, and she's rolling and from the neck up, she's younger than that. We'll see how long the body holds up. But I pray for and I, you know, I don't even know. She feels like I need to pray for her. She's she's she's great. She's good. Man. When she's ready to go, she goes tomorrow. She's good. You know what

I mean. She's nothing sentlemental about it her. She can talk about death like right here in front of you, like you're talking about drink of water.

Oh yeah, yeah. She's like, she's like, oh yeah, you lie, I swear to it. So she starts telling me she she's done some crazy stuff. Man. She had this, uh she had this boyfriend that my dad died and uh uh he was living at the house and stuff, And they've been dating for about a year and a half and they lived out this country club out in southwest Houston, and my brother Pats playing golf one day and these four older gentlemen on the other fairway call them over

and go, hey, pack, congratulations. Man pass about what and he goes about your mom c J. The marriage. He's like what Mary, Oh yeah, yeah, we all heard about it. So he goes home, Mom, what'd you do? We're talking about? No, I just so you got oh that? What what'd you do? Mom? Well, the monthly bills the club are four hundred if your only partners, but there are two fifty if you're married.

Come on, dragged her down to the country club, made her get on the mic and tell everyone I was bullshit and I was lying out of so she do stuff like that, right, And I'm like, yeah, you know not to lie, blah blah blah blah. And I go, do you have anything, Mom? No one forgives themselves quicker than you do. You have anything at the night. But when you roll the deck through your mind about things, you may regret things you want to change it her. She goes, oh, honey, I do every night. I got

a list. It's probably twenty five things on I got regrets, things I change, oh, things that I just I'm sorry for, she said. But you know the thing is, when I wake up in the morning, I forgot them all. That's her and she's not a shallow woman at all. But boy does she move on from And she doesn't generally judge people. That's another thing about her. She has zero stress, zero stress. Yeah, anyway, that's my mom.

lava leer Mike put up. I mean the scene is I'm gonna try to pick up this red headed intellectual who's played by Marissa Robisi, and she's got nerds in the car, and I'm Woodson, who's hanging out at school and then I'm older, but I still like the high school girl, So pull and pick her up. Nothing's written. Gonna improvise this. Well. As I'm getting the mic put on me, I'm starting to get a little nervous.

gotta you gotta quit. You know you gotta cut that out work, And he says, no, that's what I love about those high school girls. Man, I get older, they stayed the same.

to do. We rolled up all of a sudden, I hear action. Now as I hear action, I look up, put it in drive, and as I pull out to go do the fourth thing that Watterson lens he likes ladies. Yes, I say the three things, and affirmation for the three things that I do have. All right, all right, all right.

Those were three affirmations. And that actually was based off of a live doors concert and Jim Morrison barks at the crowd all right, all right, all right, all right, And I had listened to it, heard that four months earlier, and for whatever reason, my version of it three times came out that night. So what would you tell that version of yourself. Hey, you may think this is gonna be a hobby where you gotta have a fun weekend

acting in Austin, Texas one summer in your life. Well guess what, buddy, this is gonna be more than a hobby. It's gonna be a career and you're gonna end up loving it. Wow. Matthew McConaughey, I'm sorry, real quick.

And then I was doing that before the scene. Yell action, I'd stop. We do the scene. We do the scene five times we got it moving on. Great, nailed it moving on. All of a sudden, Leonardo raises his hand and says, hey, Marty, hang on a second. He goes, what's that thing you're doing before I told him? When I just told you? And he goes, what if you did that in the scene? Next take is what you see on on film?