The magic of being able to make the right life choices

Thursday 12 July 2012

When he first broke through with films like Dazed & Confused and A Time To Kill, Matthew McConaughey was often compared to a young Paul Newman.

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Matthew McConaughey talks to Rob Carnevale about work and family

But then the romantic comedies took over and he became better known as the guy who liked taking his shirt off.

And while he may still be removing his shirt and much more besides in Magic Mike, his latest film, McConaughey is suddenly being taken seriously again thanks to a recent body of work that also includes William Friedkin's Killer Joe, his Richard Linklater reunion Bernie and the forthcoming double-whammy of Lee Daniels's The Paperboy and Jeff Nichols's Mud.

It's a transformation he's very aware of when discussing his career as part of his Magic Mike promotion, but not something he can easily put his finger on."I didn't have an epiphany like 'stop, re-start, this is what I'm going to do, I'm going after this role and this role'," he said. "At the time I was getting offered some action roles and some romantic comedies that either the character felt like I'd done before or the movie felt like I'd seen before."So, I just said: 'Matthew, be consciously patient, don't dismiss, don't disengage but you've got time, man. You're paying your bills, so take some time off and keep your eyes open for the right thing.' I had to say no to a lot of things with some very nice pay cheques."But in that cyclical way that the world works, all of a sudden I started to attract these kinds of things and I started to get the calls from those kinds of people. How exactly that worked or why I don't have the answer to. Did The Lincoln Lawyer help? Sure! It tilted the perspective of me a little bit. Did 'Where's McConaughey' help? Sure. But as for the rest of the reasons, I'm not sure why."It has, however, re-ignited his passion for creativity and he talks excitedly about being in the mood to be an actor for hire once again. When Steven Soderbergh called to offer him the role of ex-stripper Dallas in Magic Mike, for instance, he leapt at the chance."I would have loved to have gotten a call years ago but I got my first one from him this time, he pitched it in five minutes and as soon as I heard that world and coming from him, I was like 'what a great idea'."The idea in question was inspired by – but not based upon – the early career of co-star Channing Tatum, who spent time as a stripper around the age of 18, and finds McConaughey playing the older, wiser manager of the club that Tatum's eponymous character dances at. It also involves performing the odd sexy routine.Asked whether the striptease element was daunting and whether he had to check his inhibitions at the door, he laughs and replies: "Well, the role for everybody is one big dare. But that's part of the attraction. You don't check your inhibitions at the door but you know you damn well better check them before you get on the stage because you will have them – and we all had them."Wearing a thong, in particular, required a huge leap of faith "because you don't even know it's there... it's such a small amount that's covering you, so that's a bit daunting". But he liked Dallas's unique identity, much in the same way that he also admired another of his recent characters, Killer Joe."Both characters are loners, really," he elaborates. "They're very much their own men and like to live in their own world and create their own rules. They don't pander or placate to any other regulations besides their own. And that's great fun as an actor to go, 'I've got my own credence and I don't have to follow anybody else's rules besides my own'."When it comes to applying rules to his own life, McConaughey admits to having one very firm one involving his family, which is that he takes them along wherever he goes. He married Brazilian model Camila Alves in June and announced earlier this month that they are expecting their third child together."We're a travelling circus and it's part of the deal now," he explained. "If they say: 'Oh, we don't have the budget, we can't really...' I'll say 'Well, that's not my problem, [my] family comes with me, that's the deal.'"It helps us stay together, it helps us enjoy, it helps us grow together, it helps me see the kids grow, it helps me be part of their experience and it helps them be part of mine. [And] film sets are great places for children to be."It also helps McConaughey stay true to something he has also long admired in the aforementioned Newman, the comparison to whom he feels genuinely flattered by."The one thing that's great about him was how he led his life outside [of Hollywood], [being] married to Joanne Woodward for all those years. He was a stand-up man outside. And he had a certain charisma that was part of his success. Even with a film like Hud, where he's playing a real asshole, you loved him..."It's a perception that even with his turn towards edgier, more risky roles, McConaughey hopes will apply to himself.Magic Mike is in cinemas now.

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The magic of being able to make the right life choices

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