Matthew McConaughey Quit Acting For 2 Years To Avoid Rom-Coms
Matthew McConaughey may have been the star of some of your favorite rom-coms over the years, but the award-winning actor recently revealed he did whatever he could to escape them.
The Rise of the Rom-Com King
In an Interview magazine discussion with rising rom-com star Glen Powell (Set It Up, Anyone but You) that he quit Hollywood for two years when romantic comedies were all that was being offered to him early in his career. He’s been in the popular rom-coms How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days, The Wedding Planner, Fool’s Gold, Failure To Launch, and Ghosts of Girlfriends Past.
Though all the films grossed over $100 million at the worldwide box office, the more rom-coms the Texas native made, the less the industry wanted him to star in anything else. “I’ve usually zigged when I felt like Hollywood wanted me to zag,” McConaughey said. His “rom-com years,” as he called it, from 2001 to 2009, gave him only so much “bandwidth” as for his acting capabilities.
McConaughey Quit Acting From Rom-Coms
Since he wasn’t being offered different types of roles to allow him to explore, he left Hollywood for two years. He admits that his rom-com beginnings had “solid hits” for him.
During his time off from acting, the father of three was freaking out about what he was going to do for work. He recalled talking with his wife Camila Alves McConaughey at length about finding a new career. He was seriously considering being a high school teacher, a conductor, or a wildlife guide as alternatives to acting.
“I honestly thought, ‘I stepped out of Hollywood. I got out of my lane,’” McConaughey added. Reflecting on that time of his life, the actor doubled down that he wouldn’t cave in on doing rom-coms, even if it meant quitting acting. That didn’t mean that he wasn’t absolutely freaking out about it, though. He told Powell in their interview that he couldn’t take on roles that were going to typecast him in rom-coms forever.
McConaughey went on to star in dramatic roles like 2011’s The Lincoln Lawyer, 2013’s The Wolf of Wall Street and Dallas Buyers Club, and 2014’s True Detective and Interstellar, proving that he indeed has the chops to play dramatic roles. His work was recognized in 2014 for these latter roles, earning him multiple awards.
