Sometimes, industries keep you inside a snug box. They don't emphasize the importance of diversity or the creative liberty in trying something new. After a while, you end up losing the fire for what you first loved. Matthew McConaughey knows this feeling very well.
When speaking with Glen Powell for Interview Magazine, McConaughey reveals he almost didn't come back to Hollywood. Furthermore, he explains that during his two year absence from film, he eyeballed some different career routes.
Naturally, it stems from a need to try something new. Frankly, Hollywood wasn't scratching that itch for him. So Matthew leaves. "I've usually zigged when I felt like Hollywood wanted me to zag," he explains. "When I had my rom-com years, there was only so much bandwidth I could give to those, and those were some solid hits for me. But I wanted to try some other stuff. Of course I wasn't getting it, so I had to leave Hollywood for two years."
Matthew McConaughey Used To Worry About Hollywood Typecasting Him
Additionally, Matthew McConaughey continues listing off the potential avenues he wished to explore. Initially, the transition terrifies him. There's no certainty that he'll be welcomed back with open arms. But if Hollywood wishes to put him in a box, he doesn't need it. So Matthew commits. "I had long talks with my wife about needing to find a new vocation... It was scary. The days are long — the sense of insignificance. But I made up my mind that that's what I needed to do, so I wasn't going to pull the parachute and quit the mission I was on. But it was scary, because I didn't know if I was ever going to get out of the desert."
Ultimately, McConaughey realizes that fear is natural and it's no reason to remain stuck in it. "Have you had to go, 'I would've done any of these roles, but now I've got to be discerning?'" Matthew asks Glen Powell. "I've had similar runs where I've said no to things, where I'm like, 'Am I being too safe, or am I ferociously chasing what I want?' Because sometimes you can get paralyzed in the no's. I've had plenty of times in my career where I'm like, 'I don't know what I want to do, I just know I don't want to do that.'"
