Matthew McConaughey Stopped Acting for Two Years and Thought About Becoming a Teacher or Wildlife Guide Due to Rom-Com Fame: ‘It Was Scary’

Tomris Laffly Among the perennial reasons we go to the movies is the onscreen heat between impossibly charismatic stars. The summer of 2024 has delivered the goods in that department so far: Consider the sweltering Anne Hathaway-Nicholas Galitzine romance “The Idea Of You,” the disarming, post-Barbenheimer pairing of Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt in “The Fall Guy,” Zendaya, Josh O’Connor and Mike Faist’s scorching triangle in “Challengers,” or “Hit Man” turning Glen Powell and Adria Arjona into eager bedfellows.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Kevin Costner recently joined his “Horizon: An American Saga” cast for a live recording of the “Happy Sad Confused” podcast, and he said his planned four-movie saga differs from many Western films that have come before in that its female characters “drive the story in every plot line.” Costner, who co-wrote the franchise with Jon Baird, said he “couldn’t conceive of a scene that didn’t involve a woman” while shaping the story. “Horizon” chronicles the journey of several characters during and after the Civil War as they settle the American West. Kevin Costner stars in the film opposite a sprawling ensemble cast, which includes Sienna Miller, Jena Malone, Isabelle Fuhrman, Abbey Lee and Ella Hunt.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Austin Butler revealed in a video interview with BuzzFeed that he unsuccessfully auditioned to play Peeta in “The Hunger Games” franchise. The role ultimately went to Josh Hutcherson, who starred in four “Hunger Games” movies between 2012 and 2015 opposite Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss and Liam Hemsworth as Gale.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Sheryl Crow recently spoke to the BBC and slammed artificial intelligence being used in the music space to bring back the vocals of dead artists. She specifically called out Drake for using AI to recreate the voice of late rapper Tupac on his Kendrick Lamar diss track “Taylor Made Freestyle” in April. The song was ultimately pulled after Tupac’s estate threatened to sue Drake.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director “The Sopranos” star Drea de Matteo was interviewed on Fox News’ “Jesse Watters Primetime” (via Mediaite) and said she’s got a target on her back in Hollywood because she’s an actor who does not endorse Joe Biden for president. The Emmy-winning actor went on to say there are “a lot” of “quiet” Donald Trump supporters in Hollywood, suggesting they won’t go public with their support out of fear of being similarly criticized for going against Biden. “Is there a quiet Trump voter out there in Hollywood?” host Jesse Watters asked.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Gena Rowlands is living with Alzheimer’s disease, her son Nick Cassavetes announced in a new interview with Entertainment Weekly. Cassavetes, who directed his mother in 2004’s “The Notebook,” said Rowlands is “in full dementia.” A four-time Emmy winner and two-time Golden Globe winner, Rowlands is a screen icon best known for her acclaimed collaborations with husband John Cassavetes, including the films “A Woman Under the Influence” (1974) and “Gloria” (1980). Both performances earned her Oscar nominations for best actress.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Scarlett Johansson confirmed to ComicBook.com that she is, in fact, headlining the next “Jurassic World” movie, which is being directed by “Rogue One” and “Godzilla” filmmaker Gareth Edwards from a script penned by David Koepp. The screenwriter is returning to the dinosaur franchise after having penned Steven Spielberg’s “Jurassic Park” (1993) and “The Lost World: Jurassic Park” (1997). “I am an enormous ‘Jurassic Park’ fan,” Johansson said.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Jodie Foster recently chatted with “The Bikeriders” star Jodie Comer for Interview magazine and got honest about her relationship to acting. The two-time Oscar winner for best actress admitted that she’s “never fell in love with the acting part” of her career and the “technical sides of filmmaking” have always interested her more.

Everyone loves a good rom-com, and How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days is arguably one of the best of them!

Variety Staff Follow Us on Twitter “Actors on Actors” Season 20 was the most-watched Emmys lineup in Variety history, garnering 97 million video views across social media and outpacing 2023’s record-breaking TV season. Occurring twice a year during Emmys and Oscars voting, Variety’s “Actors on Actors” spotlights the biggest and buzziest names of each awards season. The 2024 TV lineup included Robert Downey Jr.

Matthew McConaughey has revealed that he nearly quit acting in the 2000s – find out why below.In an interview with Glen Powell for Interview Magazine, McConaughey reflected on the trajectory of his career, especially in the 2000s, when he starred in a string of romantic comedies and desired to make something different.During that period, McConaughey starred in romantic comedies such as The Wedding Planner (2001), How To Lose a Guy in 10 Days (2003), Failure to Launch (2006) and Ghosts of Girlfriends Past (2009).McConaughey said to Powell: “I’ve usually zigged when I felt like Hollywood wanted me to zag. When I had my rom-com years, there was only so much bandwidth I could give to those, and those were some solid hits for me. But I wanted to try some other stuff.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Kevin Costner continues to double down on his exit from “Yellowstone,” in which he played lead character John Dutton for four and a half seasons. In a cover story for People magazine, the Oscar-winning actor said he “read all the stories” in the press that perpetuated untrue rumors about his decision to leave the show.

Glen Powell for an article in Interview magazine. “When I had my rom-com years, there was only so much bandwidth I could give to those, and those were some solid hits for me. But I wanted to try some other stuff.

Matthew McConaughey is looking back at his two-year break from Hollywood.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director “House of the Dragon” star Olivia Cooke revealed to Elle magazine that she somewhat disagreed with showrunner Ryan Condel when he decided to cut one of her sex scenes from Season 2. The intimate scene was “carnal” and even “animalistic,” according to Cooke. “It was messy as fuck.

EXCLUSIVE: Chad Powers has found its first director.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Julia Louis-Dreyfus is calling “bullshit” when it comes to comedy being hurt by political correctness. Speaking on the “On With Kara Swisher” podcast (via The Daily Beast), the Emmy winner pushed back against the idea that comedy has in any way suffered due to a changing social landscape that favors P.C. content over anything offensive.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Jude Law turned down Superman in the early 2000s because “it just felt off,” which he knows sounds ridiculous considering he would later agree to star in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and to play Dumbledore in the “Fantastic Beasts” franchise. The actor confirmed he was courted to play the Man of Steel in Brett Ratner’s failed Superman project, which was announced in 2002 and based on an iteration of J.J. Abrams’ “Superman: Flyby” script.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director “American Psycho” co-stars Chloë Sevigny and Josh Lucas recently reunited for a discussion with Vanity Fair in which the two reflected on their leading man, Christian Bale, whose apparent Method acting to play the serial killer Patrick Bateman left Sevigny confused and intimidated on set. Sevigny starred in the film as Patrick’s secretary, Jean. “I was trying to respect his process, which I found challenging because I’m very gregarious and silly and goofy, unbeknownst to the general public,” Sevigny said.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Kevin Spacey fought back tears during an interview on “Piers Morgan Uncensored” in which he revealed his house has been foreclosed on as he owes “many millions” of dollars in legal fees from his sexual misconduct trials. Piers Morgan asked the actor where he lives, to which Spacey said he no longer has a permanent home and barely has any money left to his name. “It’s funny you ask that question because this week, where I have been living in Baltimore is being foreclosed on.