Matthew McConaughey is opening up about one of the boldest choices of his career, and the surprising reaction it drew from his brothers.

In a new interview with The Guardian, the Oscar winner recalled the moment he walked away from romantic comedies at the height of his success, despite the financial security and fame they brought. 

McConaughey said his brothers couldn’t believe his decision. 

“My brothers were like: ‘Little brother, what is your major mal-f***ing-function? What are you thinking?’” he shared. 

“And I was like: ‘No, this is clear to me and [wife Camila Alves], we’re going to do this. We’re not going to pull parachute. We’re gonna ride this.’ And 20 months later, the levee broke and the offers came in that I wanted.”

The Dallas Buyers Club star explained that while rom-coms like The Wedding Planner, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days and Failure to Launch were huge box office hits, he no longer felt fulfilled. 

“I was good at something I wasn’t loving,” he said. Instead, he wanted his work to be as “vital and alive” as his life outside of Hollywood, even if that meant taking a step back until the right roles arrived.

At one point, Hollywood’s reluctance to cast him outside the genre forced him to physically leave Los Angeles. 

McConaughey moved his family to Texas, determined not to return unless he was offered the kind of projects he truly wanted. 

He even turned down a $14.5 million paycheck to prove he was serious, calling it “probably seen as the most rebellious move in Hollywood by me because it really sent the signal, ‘He ain’t f***ing bluffing.’”

The decision was not without fear. 

McConaughey admitted in past interviews that he considered other career paths if acting no longer worked out. 

“I think I’m going to teach high school classes. I think I’m going to study to be a conductor. I think I’m going to go be a wildlife guide,” he once told Interview magazine.

Ultimately, the gamble paid off. Offers for films like Mud, Interstellar, True Detective and Dallas Buyers Club soon followed, cementing his transition into dramatic roles.

His performance in Dallas Buyers Club earned him the Academy Award for Best Actor in 2014.

Away from career talk, McConaughey also revisited deeply personal memories while promoting his latest book Poems and Prayers. 

He reflected on being abducted and assaulted at age 18, describing the moment as the most powerless he had ever felt. 

“I’ve never felt as helpless as in that moment. I’ve never felt so vulnerable and unable to do anything about it,” he told The Guardian. 

Though he said the attack destroyed his innocence, he considered himself fortunate to survive “relatively unscathed.”