He was equally happy in bars, trailer camps, a jail (where he was set free for $50), and taking solo three-week-trips to Peru, floating naked on his back down the Amazon River.Įventually he tired of doing romantic comedies, so he swore off rom-coms and turned down any script that he deemed “light fare.” But at about that time, Hollywood was starting as many productions as possible because a walkout was looming. With only $1,200 left in the bank, he was paid $48,000.Ī production company had him stay for 18 months at the ultrachic Chateau Marmont hotel in Beverly Hills, and gave him a check for $150,000 to pay the hotel bill. Two weeks later he found himself playing baseball in “Angels in the Outfield” for 10 weeks. They asked him, “You ever play baseball?” Yes, he said, he did for 12 years. He did not know how to “Navigate the decadence of my success, much less believe it was mine to enjoy.” It was after he had been a bank teller, boat mechanic, photo processor, barrister’s assistant, construction worker and assistant golf pro that he finally signed up with a talent agency. But his newfound success did not come easily. I dropped to my knees, faced that full moon, extended my right hand up to it, and said, ‘Thank you.’” He said, “I ran off into the night until I was about a mile away from anyone. He read for the role of Jake Brigance and got the role.

McConaughey’s first big movie was “A Time to Kill.” He nailed a part in the film, but he wanted the lead and only the lead.

Book by matthew mcconaughey