Despite being one of the most prominent actors of this generation, Matthew McConaughey has seen his career slow down somewhat in recent times.
Since 2019 – when he worked on three different films, his only big screen role has been a voice one; in the musical comedy animation film Sing 2 from last year. This relative inactivity has even caused some to speculate whether the famous star has called time on his acting career.
While this is definitely not the case, McConaughey has clearly taken time to focus on some of his other interests, such as entrepreneurship and various activism causes.
It is rather characteristic of the 52-year-old, who has always been very deliberate with the roles he took – and when he took them. For instance, he once memorably took a bit of a hit on his career when he refused to do rom-coms.
This decision came on the back of a good number of films that the actor had done in the genre, mostly in the 2000s.
It would not have been the easiest choice for McConaughey to take, as it meant that he had to say no to some very lucrative offers.
Matthew McConaughey Refused To Make A Rom-Com For $14.5 Million In 2010
In 2020, Matthew McConaughey published a memoir titled Greenlights, about his life and career. It was here that he spoke about how he refused a $14.5 million offer to make a romantic comedy film back in 2010.
McConaughey did not specifically reveal which movie it was that he said no to, but he explained that it had to do with his desire to maintain autonomy over his career. ‘I declined the offer,’ he wrote. ‘If I couldn’t do what I wanted, I wasn’t going to do what I didn’t, no matter the price.’
Between 2000 and 2010, McConaughey became quite synonymous with the rom-com genre, inside movies like The Wedding Planner, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, Failure to Launch, Fool’s Gold and Ghosts of Girlfriends Past.
While it lasted, the Texas-born star revealed that he did in fact enjoy working in these kinds of films.
‘I enjoyed being able to give people a nitty-minute breezy romantic getaway from the stress of their lives where they didn’t have to think about anything,’ McConaughey explained in his memoir.
Matthew McConaughey ‘Picked Up The Rom-Com Baton From Hugh Grant’
Another observation made by Matthew McConaughey in his memoir was the man who he felt had been his template when going into the world of rom-coms. ‘I had taken the baton from Hugh Grant, and I ran with it,’ he wrote.
Grant is of course well known for his popular rom-coms, such as Bridget Jones: The Edge Of Reason, Music And Lyrics, About A Boy, and Notting Hill alongside Julia Roberts, among others.
While McConaughey enjoyed doing the work, the actor realized that after a while, he was only being associated with romantic comedy films. ‘The romantic comedies remained my only consistent box office hits, which made them my only consistent incoming offers,’ he continued in his book.
It was then that the actor decided to alter the course of his career, and diversify his craft into other genres as well. The first motion picture that he featured in after 2010 was The Lincoln Lawyer, a legal thriller film where he played a lawyer who almost exclusively worked from the back of his black Lincoln Town car.
What Did People Outside Hollywood Say About Matthew McConaughey’s Decision To Stop Doing Rom-Coms?
The Lincoln Lawyer was a considerable critical and commercial success, returning a gross total of more than $85 million at the box office, against a production budget of $40 million.
Matthew McConaughey also went on to excel in other non-rom-com films such as Bernie, Killer Joe, Mud, and Magic Mike, all within the first two years after turning down the $14.5 million offer for a rom-com. It was a genuine revitalization of the actor’s career, and came to be referred to widely as the ‘McConaissance.’
McConaughey’s decision was strongly lauded by many, especially beyond the context of Hollywood.
‘It seems like [McConaughey] made a dedicated effort to pursue films with good scripts and roles that showcase his particular brand of acting prowess,’ one online user observed on Reddit about eight years ago. ‘He is exceedingly likable and charming as an actor, and I think he's parlayed that well with the roles he's chosen.’
Another was simply glad the actor made the decision, considering all the hits he would go on to feature in: ‘Mud, Lincoln Lawyer, Dallas Buyers Club, True Detective, Interstellar. All such great movies/shows.’