Matthew McConaughey has revealed there’s an ‘initiation process’ to Hollywood, and has revealed in new interview what it’s like to go through it.
The actor has had an impressive 30-year career to date, starring in some of the biggest blockbusters in Hollywood.
From Interstellar to True Detective, the 54-year-old’s resume is certainly very impressive.
Matthew McConaughey in Interstellar. (Warner Bros)
And in a new interview with PEOPLE Magazine, McConaughey has been reflecting on his career so far.
Like any career, McConaughey described his ‘up and downs’.
“I, like anyone, have had my ups and downs. My star meter has been higher, my star meter has been lower. I’ve won Oscars, I’ve been arrested playing the bongos naked,” he said.
“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 star — who first lead role was alongside Sandra Bullock in the 1996 film A Time to Kill — then discussed Hollywood’s apparent ‘initiation process’.
“Because there’s an initiation process. 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,” he said.
Of course, McConaughey acknowledges that aspiring actors will get ‘tips’ from people already in the industry.
However, he thinks the best thing aspiring actors can do is learn for themselves.
“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?” he said.
And as for advice he would give to his younger self?
The actor has detailed Hollywood’s ‘initiation process’. (Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images)
Well, McConaughey simply wouldn’t tell him anything.
“Oh, I wouldn’t tell him. 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,” he told PEOPLE.
Elsewhere in the same interview, the actor was asked abut how everyone seemed to butchered his name when he first made his way in Hollywood.
He said: “I remember I said to a voice coach Tim Monich, ‘Man, I’m going to hear McGonaghey and McGonaghay…’ and Tim goes, ‘Real easy. This is what you tell someone who mispronounces your name: It’s McConaughey, rhymes with What would Madonna say?’ and 100%, when I’ve said that, people always said ‘McConaughey’ after that.”
When folks are not talking about how to pronounce the actor’s name, there are a lot of iconic lines to reminisce about.