Matthew McConaughey on Working with Family, Faith and Politics

[0:00] all right all right all right how you doing matthew mcconaughey delivering the famous line [0:07] from dazed and confused that he recently trademarked as a means he says to protect [0:13] himself from unauthorized use of his image by artificial intelligence within just a couple [0:18] of years of that 1993 movie mcconaughey had become one of hollywood's favorite leading men [0:24] starring in hit movies like a time to kill the wedding planner and how to lose a guy in 10 days [0:30] he later turned to heavier roles in true detective interstellar and dallas buyers club the film that [0:38] earned him an academy award his most recent movie the lost bus was nominated for an oscar at this [0:44] month's awards i got together with matthew in new york a few months back for a sunday sit down [0:50] we spend as much time as possible in new york it's my favorite big city in the world yeah it's always [0:59] ready and doggone metabolism just speeds up when i'm here yes [1:04] and [1:04] creatively from fire and all turned up when i when i wrote uh green lights i was out in the desert [1:09] for the writing of it but i came here to edit it and i always had this idea to go to new york [1:15] if you ever wrote a book and finish it and finish it here there's energy coming out of the sidewalks [1:21] the trademark matthew mcconaughey energy has been there right from the start you just gotta keep [1:27] living man l-i-v-i-n in a career that has ranged from romantic comedies [1:34] you call my bluff you bet i am oscar winning dramas screw the fba i'm gonna be doa the 56 [1:47] year old returned to the movies last year after some time away playing his first leading role in [1:54] six years in the apple tv drama the lost bus there's no way to go based on the true story [2:03] of the 2018 campfire the largest wildfire in california history that devastated the town [2:10] of paradise there was a a lot of heroes that day people who didn't plan on being heroes that acted [2:17] heroically mcconaughey played one of those heroes real life school bus driver kevin mckay who along [2:25] with a teacher played by america ferrera navigated a bus full of terrified children through the [2:32] inferno you got a chance to talk to kevin what were those conversations like with him i sat with [2:43] me and he retold me the day [2:46] and how he made the decision to go get those kids in this story this was uh you want to get through [2:53] hell sometimes you gotta drive right down the throat of the dragon not wait on it not be passive [3:01] at all the movie was a family affair for mcconaughey whose own 17 year old son levi played kevin's son [3:09] sean i'm off this saturday you and i can do something this weekend i'm good i don't feel [3:15] well so as far as nepotism goes for me i always say um you know i'm not going to do anything [3:20] don't you ever feel entitled when he read for this role i sent it to the casting director she [3:24] said i think it's good enough to send to the director and i went pulled his last name and [3:28] the director saw it and said that's the kid so he got it on his own merit i tried to do my best [3:33] teach and coach him probably over coached him a couple times yeah we do that as dads i'm probably [3:37] sure i'm putting him in the scene i do i'm like i think i gave him too much to think about damn it [3:42] and your mom is in it too as your mom she was great 93 wow she can find energy especially if [3:49] she gonna be in front of the camera [3:51] to have my mom here and my son here and be in the middle as a bridge with those generations [3:57] doing something that became a career for me that 1992 i didn't know if it was going to be a weekend [4:02] hobby that turned out to be a career very cool that career began with a run of romantic comedies [4:10] alongside big name co-stars that cemented him as a box office draw and yes an international heart [4:18] drop i know that that night in the park was the best time i've ever had [4:25] later [4:25] in his career mcconaughey took an intentional hollywood hiatus [4:32] i was the king of rom-coms i liked doing them something's keeping me up at night going [4:38] i wish my work could be as vital as my life feels right now so it was an unbranding phase before i [4:45] rebranded rv do not open the hatch if you open the hatch the airlock will depressurize [4:51] in recent years mcconaughey has added best-selling author to his resume his 2020 [4:57] memoir green lights became a sensation spending nearly two years on the bestseller list and last [5:05] fall's poems and prayers landed there as well i wrote this book because belief was getting in [5:10] short supply for me i was starting to look down my nose and get a little cynical starting to go [5:14] maybe this is just how it is i said no i'm not ready to wave the white flag and let doubt win [5:20] in me and i noticed that a lot of people were saying the same thing we need belief whether [5:25] that's in god whether that's in your [5:28] words your future your better self whatever that is we need more of it [5:32] we need to double down on it we've got political leaders telling us the other side is the enemy [5:37] we've got social media algorithms reinforcing our beliefs all of that how do you punch through that [5:42] the idea of america is about the continual pursuit to never say that's just how it is [5:50] i think it's going to be a punk rock rebellion and not a kumbaya namaste let's be peaceful and [5:55] see what happens i think it's going to take some rage on the part of the people who have your back [6:00] of believers, whether again, God or self or better self [6:04] or each other, take grabbing the mic back. [6:07] I feel like you are a great voice for that. [6:10] I wanna say, so I don't come across as being preachy, [6:14] this is to myself, I'm trying to call myself out too. [6:16] It is a process, all of us are working [6:19] and we need to keep working. [6:20] It does take, it's going to take some sweat equity. [6:23] All this raises the question you've been asked [6:25] about running for governor. [6:26] You said, no, I've got kids, I wanna be there. [6:29] Do you see some other role for you down the road? [6:32] Right now, this is the, I think this is the best thing, [6:34] but I'm open to where my voice and understanding [6:37] can be most useful, where and what I can learn. [6:40] Maybe I'll find an avenue I don't even know yet. [6:42] Maybe, you know, leadership down the road [6:45] in another category, maybe in political category. [6:49] I think we've got a call to action in front of us. [6:52] I know we can do it, we just gotta not concede to go. [6:55] It's just the way it is. [6:57] And not let ourself off the hook either. [6:58] We gotta counsel ourselves and administer ourselves, [7:01] referee ourselves in kind. [7:03] And that, if we do it well, pays us back [7:06] as well as the most amount of people. [7:08] That's the sweet spot. [7:13] He's a wise man, Matthew's bestseller, [7:15] Poems and Prayers is available wherever you get your books. [7:19] Our thanks to Gabrielle Kreuter Restaurant in New York [7:21] for hosting our conversation. [7:23] Don't forget to subscribe to the Sunday Sit Down podcast [7:26] to hear the full extended interview with Matthew McConaughey. [7:29] You can find our conversation [7:31] wherever you get your podcasts. [7:32] Or just scan the QR code right there on the screen.