Matthew McConaughey turned down $15m to play an iconic character – here’s why

The Oscar winner once turned down a jaw-dropping amount in an effort to pivot his career from rom-coms to dramatic roles

Matthew McConaughey has revealed why he turned down a whopping $15m acting role.

The actor, 55, appeared on the Modern Wisdom podcast on Monday (November 11), where he explained how money and success aren’t necessarily interchangeable.

“Now, money, fame, that’s the definition of success. It seems to be whoever has more – more access, more money – you’re the winner,” he told podcast host Chris Williamson.

“I’ve met many very rich men who’ve chased that dollar to be successful and to be relevant for having the most money,” the Oscar winner shared, before acknowledging how some people often “sacrifice quality for quantity.”

While the Dallas Buyers Club star admitted that he has “a lot of things now from money I’ve made,” he maintained that “there’s no way I’d be less happy” with a much smaller fortune.

At one point during the podcast, McConaughey shared that he had turned down a $14.5m acting gig during his attempt to pivot his career from romantic comedies to dramatic roles. “It was a big risk,” the Interstellar star said, as he described his two-year hiatus from acting as a “one-way ticket to a dead end in Hollywood.”

Matthew McConaughey says ‘there’s no way I’d be less happy’ with less money (Getty Images)

“I’d been gone long enough to become a new good idea. ‘Where’s McConaughey?’ Plus, he said no to that $14.5m offer three months ago,’” the father of three recounted. “You don’t say no to a $14.5m offer.”

In 2008, McConaughey was offered $15m to star in a feature film remake of Magnum, P.I, according to the Hollywood Reporter. McConaughey, who had cemented himself as a romantic lead with films like 2003’s How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days and 2009’s Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, decided to turn down the role instead.

Just two years later, he was offered the role of Ron Woodroof in 2013’s Dallas Buyers Club – which landed him the Oscar for Best Actor.

“Taking a year and a half off and saying no to things in some form or fashion made me a new good idea,” he told the Hollywood Reporter. “Sometimes the target draws the arrow.”