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Though the "Interstellar" actor believed the studio had hired someone to influence his decision, he began to think more critically about the role.
Matthew McConaughey relied on a higher power to tell him that taking on "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days" was the right career move.
In an oral history about the movie for Vanity Fair, the 53-year-old "Dallas Buyers Club" star revealed he received a sign from the universe sign onto the film while he was on the fence about joining the hit 2003 romantic comedy.
"I remember considering whether I was going to do it or not one night while on a walk down Sunset Boulevard," McConaughey said. "Suddenly, this guy comes up out of nowhere to me — he was a fortune teller guru [and] goes, 'Can I tell you your fortune real quick?'"
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View StoryWhen he agreed to get his fortune read, the guru told him, "There's a movie you're considering right now. It's a romantic comedy. You have to do this or it will be one of the biggest regrets of your life. It is going to be a blast, it is going to be an incredible experience and it is going to make a bunch of money.'"
Though the "Interstellar" actor believed the studio had hired someone to influence his decision, the interaction caused him to think more critically about the role.
"I laughed at the thought, but I also remember taking a more serious consideration, I think I even accepted the offer the next day," the Oscar Award winner confessed.
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View StoryEarly in his career McConaughey became the "go-to guy" for rom-coms after starring in hits "The Wedding Planner" (2001), "Failure to Launch" (2006), "Fool's Gold" (2008) and "Ghosts of Girlfriends Past" (2009).
Back in 2021, the actor opened up about the gratitude he felt for his typecast at the time during an appearance on Apple Music's Beyond the Influence Radio With Tim McGraw
"I'm successful at rom-coms," he recalled of that era. "The go-to guy at rom-coms. I’m living in a pad in Malibu, surfing on the beach shirtless. I'm shirtless rom-com McConaughey and I'm like, 'You damn right I am. Those rom-coms are paying for these houses that I'm renting on the beach, baby. Guilty. Come on.'"
Though he was relishing in his success, McConaughey admitted that the work became monotonous after a while.
"I started to feel like every rom-com script I did, I go, 'Oh, that’s a good one. I think I can do that tomorrow morning.' And then I was like: 'Well, I'm glad you feel like you could do that tomorrow morning,' but I was like: 'I want to be scared. I want to look at something and go, 'Whoa! I don't know what I’m going to do with that.' I want to dive in a pool and trust I'll come up to the other side than take the journey and come up bloody," he said at the time.
