Matthew McConaughey admits he almost quit acting during ‘scary’ 2-year hiatus from Hollywood

Matthew McConaughey almost walked away from acting during his two-year hiatus from Hollywood several years ago.

In his interview with Glen Powell for Interview Magazine, McConaughey, 54, opened up about why he needed to walk away from his acting career in order to reinvent himself in Hollywood after he felt like he was trapped in the romantic comedy genre.

“I’ve usually zigged when I felt like Hollywood wanted me to zag. When I had my rom-com years, there was only so much bandwidth I could give to those, and those were some solid hits for me,” McConaughey said.

He continued, “But I wanted to try some other stuff.”

In his time away, McConaughey described his life as “scary” and noted that he had “long talks” with wife Camila Alvez McConaughey about “needing to find a new vocation.”

At that time, he recalled considering work as a teacher, studying to conduct music, or working as a wildlife guide.

“I honestly thought, ‘I stepped out of Hollywood. I got out of my lane.’ The lane Hollywood said I should stay in and Hollywood’s like, ‘Well, f— you, dude. You should have stayed in your lane. Later,’” he said.

The “Fool’s Gold” star didn’t specify exactly when he took his break, but he went without any credits between 2007 and 2010 after he notably starred in several romantic comedies including “The Wedding Planner” alongside Jennifer Lopez in 2001 and 2003’s “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days.”

In 2014, he earned an Oscar for his performance in “Dallas Buyers Club” — a drama film that tells the story of Ron Woodroof, a cowboy diagnosed with AIDS in the mid-1980s. McConaughey also starred in “The Wolf of Wall Street” in 2013.

McConaughey first gained notoriety after his breakout role in 1993’s “Dazed and Confused.”

“It was scary,” McConaughey said about his time away from Hollywood.

“But I made up my mind that that’s what I needed to do, so I wasn’t going to pull the parachute and quit the mission I was on. But it was scary, because I didn’t know if I was ever going to get out of the desert.”