Matthew McConaughey Reveals the ‘Pact’ He Made with Wife Camila After Leaving Hollywood for Their Texas Ranch

Mar. 15, 2025

Matthew McConaughey on September 12, 2023 in New York City.Photo:John Nacion/Getty

John Nacion/Getty

Matthew McConaugheyis opening up about what pushed him to leave Hollywood for his home state, Texas.

The Oscar-winning actor recently chatted with tennis proNick Kyrgiosin a teaser of the athlete’s Wednesday, Nov. 20 episode ofGood Trouble with Nick Kyrgios. During their podcast conversation, the Australian athlete asked McConaughey how he’s been able to stay true to himself throughout his career.

“Look, man, the devil’s in the infinite yeses, not the nos,” McConaughey, 55, began. “No, it’s just as important, if not more important. Especially if you have some level of success and access. No becomes more important than yes.”

“I mean, we all look around and see we’ve overleveraged our life with yeses and go, ‘Geez, oh, man, I’m making C minuses and all that s— in my life because I said yes to too many things.’ I have many times in my life where I’m going through autopilot.”

As his career continued, he became a fixture in romantic comedies includingThe Wedding Planner,How to Lose A Guy In 10 Days,Failure to Launch,Fool’s Gold,andGhosts of Girlfriends Past. “That was my lane, and I liked that lane. That lane paid well and it was working. But the lane was… I was so strong in that lane that anything outside of that lane, dramas and stuff that I wanted to do, were like, ‘No, no, no, no, no McConaughey.’ Hollywood said ‘No, no, no, no, you should stay there, stay there.’ "

Camila Alves McConaughey and Matthew McConaughey on April 25, 2024 in Austin, Texas.Rick Kern/Getty Images

Rick Kern/Getty Images

But he told Kyrgios, 29, he “didn’t want to” stay in that lane. And because he couldn’t do what he wanted, he stopped doing what he was doing altogether and moved down to his family’s ranch in Texas. Once there, he made a pact with his wife, Camila Alves McConaughey, 41. “ ‘I’m not going back to work unless I get offered roles I want to do,' " he recalled.

He confessed that there were two “wobbly” years. “Luckily, Camila got pregnant with our first child [Levi, 16]. So there was purpose coming to look forward to.” Adding, “But I was still like, ‘Man’s gotta work.’ Making chimes and working in the garden wasn’t cutting it.”

In spite of that, he remained true to his pact even after he was offered an unnamed action comedy for $14.5 million.

Matthew McConaughey on October 19, 2024 in Austin, Texas.Tim Warner/Getty

Tim Warner/Getty

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

His holdout with Hollywood eventually brought him a string of films that weren’t rom-coms, includingInterstellar,Mud, andDallas Buyers Club,which earned him theBest Actor Oscar.

source: people.com