McConaughey's early career was defined by a combination of his goofy intonations on words as well as his status as a romantic lead in films like The Wedding Planner and How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days. Since then, the actor has gone on to make a wide variety of films, even winning an Oscar in 2014.

In a clip from the Good Trouble podcast (via The Hollywood Reporter), McConaughey explains why he turned down a big-budget movie. The actor details that he wanted to take some time in his career to restructure things. He had become well known as "the rom-com dude," and while comfortable there, he did not want to be boxed into that lane. So, he decided to move to Texas, and made an agreement with his wife that he would only take roles he wanted. This involved turning down $14.5 million to star in an unnamed action-comedy. Check out McConaughey's quote below:

Look, man, the devil’s in the infinite yeses, not the no’s. No, it’s just as important, if not more important. Especially if you have some level of success and access. No becomes more important than yes. Because, I mean, we all look around and see we’ve overleveraged our life with yeses and gone, geez, oh, man, I’m making C-minuses and all that sh*t in my life because I said yes to too many things.When I was rolling off the rom-coms. And I was the rom-com dude, man, that was my lane, and I liked that lane. That lane paid well and it was working.

But the lane was… I was so strong in that lane that anything outside of that lane, dramas and stuff that I wanted to do, were like, no, no, no, no, no McConaughey. Hollywood said no, no, no, no, you should stay there, stay there. I didn’t want to. So, since I couldn’t do what I wanted to do, I stopped doing what I was doing. And I moved down to the ranch in Texas, and I went down there and I made a pact with my wife [Camila Alves McConaughey] and said, ‘I’m not going back to work unless I get offered roles I want to do.'I think that was the one that was probably what was seen as the most rebellious move in Hollywood by me, because it really sent the signal, he ain’t f*cking bluffing.

And when you got someone who’s not bluffing, there’s something attractive about that. I think that’s what made Hollywood go, ‘You know what? He’s now a new novel idea. He’s a new bright idea.' When those offers came, I would salivate, man. And I just bit on and went back to back to back and worked as much as I could and loved it and felt every bit of it.

What This Means For McConaughey's Career

McConaughey Did Make A Big Pivot

McConaughey never states what action film it was he turned down, or the year in which he did so. Turning away from rom-coms did not in fact mean that the actor was no longer interested in making mainstream movies. For instance, he led the Christopher Nolan-directed sci-fi epic Interstellar in 2014. This film was far from small, as it was made on an estimated budget of $165 million. Still, it was an emotional and dramatic role for which McConaughey got praise from critics.

It is also undeniably true that the last 10 to 15 years of the actor's career look immensely different from his initial movie days. In 2013, he was in Dallas Buyers Club, which is the film that ended up winning him his first and only Oscar. Interstellar came the following year, along with a part in True Detective season 1, which earned him an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series. His career has not reached the same level of awards acclaim since, but still has looked a lot different from his early work.

Our Take On Matthew McConaughey's Career Decision

It Mirrors Trends For Other Actors

McConaughey's massive career pivot represents one of the many exciting shifts that have come this century with actors changing their style. Two other notable examples of this are Robert Pattinson and Nicolas Cage, both of whom have used the past few years to break out into the indie scene, and away from roles that got them ridiculed. McConaughey may not have gone as indie and out there as the likes of Pig or High Life, but he has had an exciting career shift nonetheless as he transitioned away from rom-coms.

Source: THR