Matthew McConaughey lifts lid on Hollywood’s initiation process

Matthew McConaughey shares why he turned down millions for a role in his new memoir. Photo / Getty Images

Matthew McConaughey made his debut in Tinseltown three decades ago, however, the actor has revealed some of the obstacles he had to overcome along the way.

The Fool’s Gold actor has revealed that there is an “initiation process” in Hollywood, and he has confessed that he wouldn’t have it any other way, reports People.

“I, like anyone, have had my ups and downs,” he told the publication.

“My star metre has been higher, my star metre has been lower. I’ve won Oscars. I’ve been arrested playing the bongos naked.”

The star went on, “Overall, I believe there’s been inherent goodwill for me, but it did not keep me from figuring out my own initiation into the industry.”

The Texas-born actor then reflected on his time in the spotlight and questioned why nobody had given him tips and advice on stardom earlier on.

“Overall, I believe there’s been inherent goodwill for me, but it did not keep me from figuring out my own initiation into the industry.” Photo / Getty Images

“There’s a lot of things you learn 10 years after being in Hollywood and you go, ‘Well, why didn’t they tell me that in year two?’ Because there’s an initiation process,” he revealed.

“There just is. You can get tips, but you’ve got to figure out the BS, cut the wheat from the chaff along the way.”

With the knowledge that he has now, the Interstellar actor admitted that he wouldn’t give his younger self any advice.

“Oh, I wouldn’t tell him,” he shared.

“I’d let him figure it out the same way I did. Take feeder roads off the highway. Get confused, get frustrated, feel lost, and overcome it.”

In his 30 years on the screen, McConaughey has featured in a number of Hollywood’s biggest flicks.

However, he confessed to People that he still never tires of fans coming up to him about one of his earlier movies.

The star is renowned for the iconic line, “alright, alright, alright”, which he said in the 1993 classic Dazed and Confused.

McConaughey is proud of the iconic film moment as the line wasn’t actually written in the script, it was improvised. What’s more, he wasn’t even supposed to be in the scene.

Matthew McConaughey with Rory Cochrane in Dazed and Confused, 1993.

“I had no idea that that line would precede me for the rest of my life, and people ask me all the time, ‘Are you tired of that preceding you?’ And I’m like, ‘Hell, no!’ That [came] out of my mouth in a scene that I was never supposed to be in, that was never written,” he shared.

McConaughey added, “Every time I hear it, I’m like, ‘That was the first three words you said ever on film 30-something years ago.’ I take it as a compliment.”

While The Gentlemen star is proud of what he has accomplished in the film industry, what brings him the most happiness is raising his three kids: Levi, 15, Livingston, 11, and Vida, 14, whom he shares with wife of 12 years Camila Alves.

He revealed to People that he “can’t think of anything more important” than being a dad.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Levi McConaughey (@levimcconaughey)

“Having children, I know, has made me a better artist and a better actor,” McConaughey shared.

“Kids see things for the first time all the time. Their questions are innocent. I’ve become a better storyteller because I have kids.”