Academy Award-winning actor Matthew McConaughey said he turned down offers as high as $14.5 million because he no longer wanted to play romantic comedy roles.
McConaughey told "The Diary of a CEO" podcast host Steven Bartlett recently that he was determined to avoid being typecast, even if it meant rejecting multimillion-dollar scripts. The 55-year-old said Hollywood kept offering him similar roles despite his interest in dramas, and his refusal, he added, reshaped the direction of his career.
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Refusing Big Money Offers
McConaughey told Bartlett he was offered an $8 million paycheck for an action comedy script. He said he declined, but the studio raised the offer to $10 million and then $12 million. Finally, they came back with $14.5 million.
"I was getting quantity, but I wasn't getting the quality," McConaughey said. Even after rereading the script at the higher offer, he explained it was still the same story he wanted to avoid. According to him, the decision to keep turning down the roles marked a turning point in how Hollywood viewed him.
Life Away From Hollywood
McConaughey told Bartlett that after rejecting the offers, he stepped away from acting for nearly two years. During that time, he lived on his Texas ranch with his wife, model Camila Alves, and thought seriously about leaving Hollywood.
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"If I can't do what I want to do, I'm going to quit doing what I've been doing," he said. McConaughey added that he told his agent, "No more rom-coms." According to him, after that, "the phone stopped ringing" for almost two years.
Career Transformation
The actor said his decision eventually led to his 2011 return with "The Lincoln Lawyer," a legal thriller based on Michael Connelly's novel, which he credited as a key shift toward serious roles. More opportunities followed, including "Mud," "Magic Mike" and HBO's "True Detective."
McConaughey told Bartlett that his biggest breakthrough came with "Dallas Buyers Club" in 2013, where his performance won him the Academy Award. "Would those [roles] have come if I'd never stepped out? No. They wouldn't have," he said.
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From ‘The Lost Bus' To ‘Poems & Prayers'
McConaughey stars in "The Lost Bus,” a survival drama directed by Paul Greengrass that tells the story of the 2018 Camp Fire in California, inspired by Lizzie Johnson's book "Paradise."
The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and then opened in theaters on Sept. 19 before its Apple TV+ streaming release on Oct. 3, Apple announced.
Beyond acting, McConaughey has turned his attention to publishing. His latest book, "Poems & Prayers," was released on Sept. 16 and is described by publisher Crown as a collection reflecting on faith, life, and relationships.
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