March 13, 2025: Actor Matthew McConaughey has opened up about his decision to return to live-action movies for the first time in six years, just ahead of the premiere of his latest film The Rivals of Amziah King at SXSW in Austin, Texas.
McConaughey, who took a break from acting to focus on family and personal projects, expressed that his return to the big screen reminded him of his deep love for acting. Speaking to People, he shared that his performance in The Rivals of Amziah King brought back a sense of joy and fulfillment he hadn’t realized he missed. “One, how much I truly enjoy performing. Two, I remembered, ‘Hey, McConaughey, you’re pretty damn good at this.’ And three, I remembered that acting is a vacation for me,” he said. “When I’m performing, it’s my singular focus.”
Despite his excitement, McConaughey admitted he was nervous on his first day back on set. He humorously raised his hand and asked, “Is anybody else nervous except for me?” When the cast and crew responded with laughter, McConaughey quipped, “Alright, alright, alright, I just wanted to make sure I wasn’t the only one.”
After taking a step back from Hollywood for a few years, McConaughey focused on spending time with his family, writing his memoir Greenlights in 2021, and making a cameo in Zach Bryan’s music video for “Nine Ball.” Reflecting on his time away from acting, he mentioned, “I needed to write my own story, direct my own story on the page.”
In The Rivals of Amziah King, McConaughey plays a charismatic honey farmer in rural Oklahoma who is trying to reconnect with his estranged foster daughter while navigating conflicts with his rivals in the honey business. The movie also stars Kurt Russell, Jake Horowitz, Tony Revolori, Owen Teague, and Cole Sprouse.
The Rivals of Amziah King premiered at SXSW on March 10, marking McConaughey’s first live-action film appearance since 2019’s The Gentlemen.