I’ll start with a confession. I met Matthew McConaughey before his recent comments about Trump caused uproar with liberals. We did not discuss politics. Instead we discussed Matthew McConaughey.
The political controversy swirled when the Oscar-winning actor told the UK’s Andrew Marr TV Show: “He’s our president…it’s very dynamic and as divisive of a time and inauguration as we’ve had, at the same time, it’s time for us to embrace. Shake hands with this fact, be constructive with him over the next four years.”
The comment was entirely in keeping with his polite southern personality. Hell, he was in London so I’m guessing he felt the need to be civil about the US President when abroad as is customary, or at least used to be.
McConaughey, you see, is one of Hollywood’s last gentlemen, one of these men who knows manners but also knows that it would be rude not to explore the torment and intensity of his acting persona. His eyes look deeply inside you, like he’s known you for ages.
He could have gone on doing romantic comedies but instead got out of that comfort zone to play roles that are more into uncovering human nature. The latest stop on the ‘McConaissance’ is his new movie Gold, directed by Stephen Gaghan. You should go out of your way to see it and it’s aided by a brilliant music score by Daniel Pemberton.
You might have gathered that I like him. I decided I would use our interview to understand him better by asking him about what he believes in (besides giving Trump a chance).
How do you choose your roles? Are you attracted to the physically challenging parts or is inhabiting the mind of interesting characters key?
It is really like a process happening naturally as soon as I decide to accept a role. I become this other person and my thoughts get totally into it. I’m able at the same time to condition my choices in transforming my body.
In Gold you play Kenny Wells, a risk-taking business man who is desperately in love with a woman ( Bryce Dallas Howard) and who teams up with a geologist (Edgar Ramirez) to find gold in the criminal jungles of Indonesia. What fascinated you about this?
The film is based on a true story [the 1993 Bre-X mining scandal] and I got really passionate about that story. It was like exploring human nature. I had already done it with Dallas Buyers Club and Free State of Jones. Regarding Kenny, I like that he is brave and fearless. That he dares to try, even if he risks then deeply fails. It is something he must face from one day to another. His appetite to enjoy life and its pleasure is endless—that made him particularly interesting too.
Your character seems like the acting profession—one day you are a star and the next day you can’t get a job any more.
Yes, I think it can happen to everybody to be on the top and then to risk losing everything. In our business there is also always that struggle, even when you become famous. I just try to do the best decisions I can. You can never know if one of your film will go well or not until it comes out.
And like your character in Gold, you are a self-made man.
Yes indeed. My family was not in the movie or entertainment business so I had to work hard at this profession, but it is what I always wanted to do. It was in my blood.
Acting was in your blood? Didn’t you have other hobbies growing up?
I loved playing sports, I was good at them at school. Then it was a time I was even thinking of becoming a lawyer, as I have a deep sense of justice and to do the right thing, but in the end acting was something inside me. So I began working in television commercials and auditioning until Richard Linklater casted me in Dazed and Confused. And then it all started…
On Gold you gained 45lb for the part but I’m looking at you now and you seem perfectly fit!
I force my discipline really hard…I think it is easier for sure to put on weight as I simply eat everything I want: Steaks, cheeseburger, beer and I never get tired of it! (He laughs) It was a bit more challenging when I had to put on muscle to play a stripper in Magic Mike as you have to follow a special diet and really hit the gym. When I had to lose the weight instead, it is more difficult. When I was preparing for Dallas Buyers Club my daughter came to me and told me that I was so thin that I looked like a giraffe! And when some friends started thinking I was seriously ill, that was when I understood I was ready.
You seem to have quite a stable family life for a Hollywood star.
Yes, they are all there for me. Sometimes they get worried of course. Family for me is the most important thing and it has always been. I always wanted to have a family with kids. But sometimes you must be ready for it—to meet the right woman in the right moment.
You grew up in Austin, Texas. What did you like about your upbringing?
The nature there is magic and there is a sense of wildness and adventure, even in the people. You meet strange characters with incredible stories to tell. Plus the people out there believe a lot in the traditional values like I do, especially family first of all.
Let’s talk about Sing. You played a koala who sings “Call Me Maybe”. Is there any correlation between the character and yourself for this one?
There are important topics in this animation movie, which I strongly believe in, like never giving up on your dreams, to believe in yourself even when you are defeated and to be yourself, to stand up for your ideas, to not compromise, and to love and be loved in the most authentic way. Like my koala, I tend to be an optimist when things do not go well. I prefer to keep on fighting to change them instead of complaining.
How was the experience of singing “Call Me Maybe”?
It was a lot of fun but there were a few worries before doing it! And I relaxed a bit too in some way after—no physical transformation this time!
Are you worried about becoming older?
No as it is part of life and I think that for an actor it is even a bigger challenge to become better as you get more experience. And then I can’t wait to see my children grow up. They have all their own personalities, are amazing in different ways and I can’t wait to see what they will be like as adults.
