How a Right Woman Made Matthew McConaughey Quit Romantic Comedies

Matthew McConaughey became well-known to viewers for his roles in romantic comedies during the 2000s. He was doing well and could’ve continued filming rom-com for the rest of his career. However, it all changed after he met his wife, Brazilian model Camila Alves. After revealing deeper and different emotions, McConaughey realized his roles were not challenging him anymore and therefore did not satisfy him.

We at Bright Side deeply admire people who are willing to step out of their comfort zone and risk their success. Thus, we wanted to share Matthew McConaughey’s amazing story about his 180-degree transformation with you.

How Matthew’s wife affected his decision

In a 2021 interview, Matthew explained how he found the love of his life in Camila Alves. This led him to face much deeper emotions and sensations, and the new experience made him realize that romantic comedies didn’t reflect his psychological state anymore. So it was natural for Matthew to move toward something different.

His family was in shock, but Camila supported him from day one.

When Matthew announced his decision to his family, they were convinced that the actor was out of his mind. He was the “go-to rom-com guy, surfing on the beach, shirtless.” Turning away from roles that had built Matthew’s career up until that point was a serious step toward the unknown, which frightened him at some points. His biggest supporter was his wife, who believed in him from the start.

He rejected a $14.5 million offer.

For the first 6 months, Matthew didn’t get any offers except romantic comedies. Some of them were really good but he refused all of them, even a $14.5 million role. No matter how hard those days were, Matthew didn’t want to step away from his decision. As he said, “If I’m doing something, I like to take it to the limit.”

Matthew thought he’d never work in Hollywood again.

His last rom-com movie, Ghosts of Girlfriend’s Past, was filmed in 2009. McConaughey didn’t appear on screen for the next 2 years, and he was making peace with the fact he might never work in Hollywood again. No matter how upsetting that was, Matthew didn’t change his mind. Eventually, he got back on-screen in 2011 with The Lincoln Lawyer. With that movie, he opened a new series of successful roles.

His effort and risk paid off.

To prepare for his role in Dallas Buyers Club, the actor lost about 22 kilograms (49 pounds). Even though he won several awards for that performance, Matthew didn’t expect to win an Oscar. However, his efforts finally paid off as McConaughey won the best actor Oscar in 2014.

McConaughey can teach us a lot about success.

In 2015, McConaughey gave a motivational speech to the graduates of the University of Houston. According to his words, we must first find out what success means to us, what we want to be, and what we don’t want. Success requires a strong will and discipline. To achieve our goals, we must develop good habits, as our daily habits define us and influence our actions.

“You are the author of the book of your life.”

From Matthew’s example, we can see that we are in control of our life. Instead of finding excuses for our failures, we have to accept them and turn the page. Taking control over our life and career may be terrifying at first, but it’s the only way to pursue our dreams.

Which of McConaughey’s movies is your favorite? Are there any of his roles that you particularly admire? Tell us in the comments!