Matthew McConaughey Quit Acting For 2 Years To Avoid Rom-Coms
Matthew McConaughey may have been the star of some of your favorite rom-coms over the years, but the award-winning actor recently revealed he did whatever he could to escape them….
Matthew McConaughey speaks during a Q&A at TWC-Dimension Celebrates The Cast And Filmmakers Of “Gold” on November 9, 2016 in Los Angeles, California.
Vivien Killilea/Getty Images for TWC-DimensionMatthew McConaughey may have been the star of some of your favorite rom-coms over the years, but the award-winning actor recently revealed he did whatever he could to escape them.
(Photo by Amy E. Price/Getty Images)
The Rise of the Rom-Com King
In an Interview magazine discussion with rising rom-com star Glen Powell (Set It Up, Anyone but You) that he quit Hollywood for two years when romantic comedies were all that was being offered to him early in his career. He's been in the popular rom-coms How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days, The Wedding Planner, Fool’s Gold, Failure To Launch, and Ghosts of Girlfriends Past.
Though all the films grossed over $100 million at the worldwide box office, the more rom-coms the Texas native made, the less the industry wanted him to star in anything else. “I’ve usually zigged when I felt like Hollywood wanted me to zag,” McConaughey said. His "rom-com years," as he called it, from 2001 to 2009, gave him only so much "bandwidth" as for his acting capabilities.
McConaughey Quit Acting From Rom-Coms
Since he wasn't being offered different types of roles to allow him to explore, he left Hollywood for two years. He admits that his rom-com beginnings had "solid hits" for him.
During his time off from acting, the father of three was freaking out about what he was going to do for work. He recalled talking with his wife Camila Alves McConaughey at length about finding a new career. He was seriously considering being a high school teacher, a conductor, or a wildlife guide as alternatives to acting.
“I honestly thought, ‘I stepped out of Hollywood. I got out of my lane,'” McConaughey added. Reflecting on that time of his life, the actor doubled down that he wouldn't cave in on doing rom-coms, even if it meant quitting acting. That didn't mean that he wasn't absolutely freaking out about it, though. He told Powell in their interview that he couldn't take on roles that were going to typecast him in rom-coms forever.
McConaughey went on to star in dramatic roles like 2011's The Lincoln Lawyer, 2013's The Wolf of Wall Street and Dallas Buyers Club, and 2014's True Detective and Interstellar, proving that he indeed has the chops to play dramatic roles. His work was recognized in 2014 for these latter roles, earning him multiple awards.
These Celebrities Share The Same Ex
Hollywood can be a small dating pool. Celebrities hook up with each other in their same social circles. And there is no shortage of Hollywood divorces. The dating world of the rich and the famous is small for those who are in it. As a result, there are many celebrities who share the same lovers.
Take a look below at which celebrities have been with the same person:
Lenny Kravitz
Evan Agostini/Mike Coppola/Jon Kopaloff/Getty ImagesLisa Bonet and Lenny Kravitz were married from 1985 to 1993. Adriana Lima and Lenny were together from 2001 to 2003, and were engaged.
Harry Styles
Amy Sussman/Getty Images/Neilson Barnard/Getty Images for The Recording AcademyTaylor Swift and Harry Styles dated for a year back in 2012 and both wrote songs about each other. Nearly ten years later and a woman ten years older, Harry dated Olivia Wilde for two years.
Demi Moore
Gabe Ginsberg/Getty Images for ShowtimeDemi Moore was married to Bruce Willis from 1987 and welcomed three daughters with him: Rumer, Scout and Tallulah. They divorced in 2000. Moore and Ashton Kutcher married in 2005 after dating for two years. She announced their split in November 2011 and they finalized their divorce two years later.
Matthew McConaughey
Frazer Harrison/Emma McIntyre/Getty Images/Gregg DeGuire/Getty Images for WCRFBefore marrying his wife Camila Alves in 2012, McConaughey dated Bullock for two years in 1996.
Angelina Jolie
Joe Maher/JC Olivera/Amy Sussman/Getty ImagesBilly Bob Thornton and Jolie were married from 2000 to 2003 after they met and fell in love on the set of 1999's 'Pushing Tin.' She met Brad while on the set of 2003's 'Mr. and Mrs. Smith.' She was single, but Brad was married to Jennifer Aniston. Jolie and Pitt married in 2014, divorcing five years later citing irreconcilable differences.
Katy Perry
Jeff Spicer/Monica Schipper/JC Olivera/Getty ImagesRussell Brand and Perry married back in 2010, but it only lasted 14 months. In 2016, Perry began dating Orlando Bloom. After taking a break in 2017, they rekindled their romance less than a year later and are now engaged and share a daughter together.
Kendall Jenner
Frazer Harrison/Dimitrios Kambouris/Christian Petersen/Getty ImagesKendall was linked to Nick Jonas in 2015 after his split from Olivia Culpo. Fast forward to 2020, Jenner dated Phoenix Suns Devin Booker on and off for 2 years -- her longest relationship to date.
Justin Bieber
Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images for Vanity Fair/Frazer Harrison/Getty Images for The Recording Academy/Kevin Winter/Getty ImagesJustin and Selena Gomez were the ultimate pop power couple, dating on and off from 2008 to 2018. Justin and Hailey Baldwin dated for six months in 2016 when he and Selena weren't together and reunited again a month after he and Selena broke up in 2018. Justin and Hailey got engaged in July 2018 and married in September 2018.
Megan Fox
Dia Dipasupil/ Jamie McCarthy/Ethan Miller/Getty ImagesBrian Austin Green and Fox first met in 2004 while filming 'Hope & Faith.' They began dating shortly after, marrying in 2010 and share three children together. In 2020, Fox filed for divorce and went on to date Machine Gun Kelly. In 2022, MGK proposed to Fox. The couple's relationship is up in the air, as breakup rumors began in February 2023.
Halsey
Frazer Harrison/Amy Sussman/Getty Images/Leon Bennett/Getty Images for Black Music Action CoalitionEvan Peters and Halsey dated for a few months from September 2019 until February 2020. G-Eazy and Halsey had an on-and-off relationship from 2017 until it ultimately ended in October 2018.
Madonna
Stuart C. Wilson/Dimitrios Kambouris/Andreas Rentz/Getty ImagesMadonna's been married twice: first to Sean Penn, to whom she was married from 1985 to 1989, and then to Guy Ritchie from 2000 to 2008.
Kim Kardashian
Brad Barket/Getty Images for Fast Company/Frazer Harrison/Getty Images for ABA/Paras Griffin/Getty Images for BETKanye and Kim started dating in 2012, marrying 2 years later. They divorced in 2022 and share four children together. Ray J dated Kim from 2002-2006 and famously made a sex tape with her in 2004.
Scarlett Johansson
Amy Sussman/Getty Images/Monica Schipper/Getty Images for David Yurman/Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images for American Museum of Natural HistoryRyan Reynolds and Scarlett began dating in 2007 and married a year later. In 2011, the couple divorced. One marriage, divorce, and a child later, Scarlett and Colin Jost began dating in 2017 after knowing each other for a decade. They married secretly in 2020 and share a son together.
Justin Timberlake
David Livingston/Kevin Winter/Frazer Harrison/Getty ImagesBritney Spears met Justin on 'The Mickey Mouse Club' in 1992. They began dating in 1999 but broke up in 2002. Timberlake dated Jessica Biel in 2007 and though they broke up briefly in 2011, the couple tied the knot in 2012. The couple share two children together.
Demi Lovato
Leon Bennett/Getty Images/Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for The Recording Academy/Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images for Vanity FairJoe Jonas dated his 'Camp Rock' co-star for just three months in 2010, but remain friends. Wilmer Valderrama dated Demi on and off from 2010 to 2016.
Ryan Gosling
Frazer Harrison/Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images/Angela Weiss/Getty Images for New York & CompanyGosling and Rachel McAdams began dating in 2005 after 'The Notebook' came out. They called it quits two years later. Gosling then dated Eva Mendes shortly after filming 'The Place Beyond the Pines' in 2011. The couple, who share two kids together, have kept their lives private.
Joaquin Phoenix
Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts/Gareth Cattermole/Amy Sussman/Getty ImagesJoaquin dated his 'Inventing the Abbotts' co-star Liv Tyler from 1995 to 1998. Almost a decade later, Phoenix began dating Rooney Mara in 2016. The couple got engaged in 2019 and a year later, Mara gave birth to their son, River.
