Matthew McConaughey recently spoke about how he turned down a $14.5M offer to be taken more seriously in Hollywood. This risky gamble ultimately paid off, and now McConaughey is regarded as one of the finest actors in the industry.
Matthew McConaughey recalls letting go of a $14.5 million acting job
Matthew McConaughey recently opened up about turning down a huge payday during an episode of The Diary of a CEO podcast. He did so while recalling his transition from a rom-com star to a serious drama star. The actor said that he could not land any serious roles after he starred in rom-coms like How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days and Failure to Launch.
He recalled, “I was getting quantity, but I wasn’t getting the quality…” He further explained, “What I want to do is dramas, but Hollywood won’t offer me one, no matter how big a pay cut I take.” This prompted McConaughey to take a risky gamble.
“If I can’t do what I want to do, I’m going to quit doing what I’ve been doing,” he said. “[I] chose to, boom, go to the ranch in Texas. Told my agent, ‘No more rom-coms.”
Nearly two years passed. Then came along the big offer of an action comedy. “$8 million offer. I read it. I said, ‘No, thank you, that’s the stuff I’m not doing…They come back with a $10 million offer, ‘I’m not reading that again, no thank you.’ They come back with a $12 million offer, ‘Guys, tell them I said no thanks, ‘” the Dallas Buyers Club actor recalled, “They come back with a $14.5 million offer. I said, ‘Let me read that again,…I read it again, it’s the same words that were in the $8 million offer I said no to, but it was better written.”
Ultimately, McConaughey’s determination paid off, and he ended up getting serious roles. He went on to win the Oscar for Best Actor for his performance in Dallas Buyers Club.
