Matthew McConaughey coined the term “McConaissance”.
“It was a bit of self-marketing,” the Oscar winner admitted. “I made this up.”
Matthew McConaughey reveals who he really is behind the masterful ‘McConaissance’ branding.
The Oscar-winner talked about how he transitioned from starring in rom-coms “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days,” “The Wedding Planner” and “Failure to Launch” to more serious roles in the 2010s . such as ‘The Lincoln Lawyer’, ‘True Detective’ and ‘Dallas Buyers Club’.
“Hollywood hasn’t offered me (those roles) before,” McConaughey admitted on Chelsea Handler’s iHeart.Dear Chelsea!” podcast.
Comedian Handler whispered that McConaughey then became part of the “McConaissance,” to which McConaughey said, “Oh, jeez, that was some self-marketing.” The “Mud” actor admitted that while promoting the 2012 film, a journalist told him on the red carpet that he was “on a roll” and that his career needed a catchphrase.
McConaughey said he fed the reporter a white lie, saying, “Yeah, I talked to this guy a minute ago, and he actually called it the McConaissance.” Well, McConaughey said, “I threw it out and he’s like, ‘The McConaissance, I love it! You like?’ And I’m like, “Yeah, that sounds good, man.” So I snuck in there and damn, it stuck. So I made it up.”
McConaughey likened the tagline to the new “album cover” or “song title” of his career. in 2014 New York writer Rachel Syme used the term as a headline For a piece about McConaughey’s comeback that brings even more attention to the phrase the actor claims to have previously coined.
Back in 2017, McConaughey reflected on his rom-com run, calling the genre “a very thin wavelength” and prompting his agent to turn down rom-com offers.
“The anxiety was how long will it be dry, how long will we not get anything? My agent did a good job of saying no, no, no. Then the studios got the message and stopped sending it,” McConaughey said The guardian. “Then it was a cul-de-sac of nowhere. And there was nothing for about eight months.”
As for his more dramatic turn, McConaughey added: “People would say, ‘He crawled out of bed and said, ‘Just keep living, man!’ And now he got serious. No. I had as many bookmarks and notes on these rom-coms as I did on “True Detective” or “Dallas Buyers” or “Gold.”
The actor will host a “Yellowstone” spin-off series and reunite with his “True Detective” co-star and co-executive producer for the Apple TV+ comedy series about two Texas brothers.
Register: Stay up to date with the latest movie and TV news! Subscribe to our email newsletter here.