Matthew McConaughey declined $14.5M paycheck when he wanted to ditch rom-coms

Matthew McConaughey has played a number of heart throbs in numerous Hollywood rom-coms.

But in 2010 the hunky actor, 50, decided that he wanted to take on more serious roles – which led to him turning down a $14.5 million paycheck.

The star – who has starred in classic rom-coms How To Lose A Giy In 10 Days, Failure To Launch, Fool’s Gold and “Ghosts Of Girlfriends Past – opens up on declining the whooping sum of money in order to win parts that did not see him “chase the girl, fall down, then get up and finally get her” in his new memoir Greenlights.

According to IndieWire , the just keep livin charity founder admitted that he “enjoyed” starring in “breezy” romantic comedies but after years of being the on-screen stud he wanted to try something different.

“The romantic comedies remained my only consistent box office hits, which made them my only consistent incoming offers,” Matthew pens in his book.

He adds: “For me personally, I enjoyed being able to give people a nitty-minute breezy romantic getaway from the stress of their lives where they didn’t have to think about anything, just watch the boy chase the girl, fall down, then get up and finally get her. I had taken the baton from Hugh Grant, and I ran with it.”

Matthew then shares that he was offered a $14.5 million paycheck to star in yet another rom-com but he knew in order to pursue more serious parts he had to turn it down.

“I declined the offer,” McConaughey writes “If I couldn’t do what I wanted, I wasn’t going to do what I didn’t, no matter the price.”

And his decision paid off as he went on to win a number of critically-acclaimed parts – including the role of AIDS patient Ron Woodroof in the 2013 biographical drama Dallas Buyers Club which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor for.

His new book Greenlight, billed as ‘raucous stories and outlaw wisdom’, charts the highs and lows of the Academy Award winner’s time in Hollywood and his turbulent personal life.

Within the book, Matthew makes the shocking revelation that his father died ‘at climax’ while making love to his mum.

An excerpt shared in People magazine explains: “I got a call from my Mom. ‘Your dad died.’ My knees buckled. I couldn’t believe it.

“He was my dad. Nobody or nothing could kill him. Except mom.

“He’d always told me and my brothers, ‘Boys, when I go, I’m gonna be makin’ love to your mother.’ And that’s what happened. He had a heart attack when he climaxed.”

Matthew’s father, James, passed away aged 63 in 1992 when the star was in his early 20s.

Giving more information about his parents and their very on-off relationship, Matthew explained that his oil pipe supply business owning father had married his school teacher mother, Mary Kathleen, there times – with the couple divorcing twice.

More On

Matthew McConaughey