Matthew McConaughey on Spending Time with the Guy Who Inspired His Character: “What did I take from that directly? Well, a lot of it just listening and trying to pick up things between the lines. He's the guy who picked these winners and had this great percentage and so you're always looking for what the science behind it was, what the secret was. Well, I don't know. If I knew that answer, and if anyone really had a full proof answer to how to pick winners and foresee that future, every week there would be a lot of people doing that for a living. Now some people do do it for a living. And he did very well at it.
I have a few things that I sort of just held onto for myself and those were my own sort of secrets that I picked up from talking to him, I think, and a lot of other people who were running touting services. But I do know this. I sure don't know how to give you one line that is the secret to it because, like I say, you win one game and then I'm a genius. I did it. See, I knew it. That's what everyone says when you win. 'I knew it. I told you. I knew it.' That feels great because you go, 'Everything I went over in my head about why, about why this pick was right, was true. So I was seeing the future clearly.'
If you lose, like I said, everyone looks around and starts going, 'Well, there is some conspiracy theory and they were against me.' It's funny. That's where you hear the most interesting stories with the people who gamble. It's what they'll say about why they lost. But this guy, my character, was not a gambler. I mean, he was a winner who played football and also he could pick. There is a very clear distinction that my guy was not a guy who gambled.”
Matthew McConaughey Only Gambles on Himself: “I've always been one who would really rather bet on myself because then if I win, and I do it everyday with movies… That way whether I'm trying to get a back end deal and get more money on the back end, or whether it's doing press like this or for like the last film that I did where I went off and toured the country, that's me betting on myself. Then if it works out I can look in the mirror and go, 'Hey, man. Good job.' If it doesn't I can look in the mirror and go, 'What do we need to change because you have a large responsibility here?'
I've gone out and played a game myself, like golf, I'll bet with my brothers. I'll bet on me and if I make the shot, I made the shot. If I miss the shot and miss that 8-foot putt I only have one person to be ticked off at, and that’s me. And then it's very simple. I'd rather deal with that. But as far as betting games and stuff, I'll bet a little bit with my friends, but just enough so that we can kind of talk noise.
Never have I put myself in a position where I was dealing with any money that was money that I couldn't very easily afford to just play with. I don't go to Vegas thinking that I have to go there and make some money. If I go there and lose some money, it's never an amount where I have lost anything or I'm returning home going, 'Oh, no. I can't pay my rent.’ Or, ‘Oh no, I can't do this. I really wasted that money.' That's not a place where I'm naturally drawn to, luckily. It's a fun buzz, but it's never [been my thing]. I don't love it, I guess. I guess that's it. It doesn't turn me on that much.”
Matthew McConaughey Provides Insight Into the Heart Attack Scene in “Two for the Money:” “Well, first of all, that was a really well written scene and it was at a time in the movie where I had cared about him enough, and cared about myself enough, to where that's not the game that my character played. I didn't play games with people. For my character, you don't tease and fake death and heart attacks. I've lost people in my family. You don't play with God, you don't play with fate that way, and don't you dare to that to me. I mean, that's kind of what naturally happened in the scene.
I mean, as you saw it - I don't know. That was a day where the scene called for it and it was one of those days. That's hard stuff. That's hard living stuff. It was hard to do and then you go, 'Oh, just kidding.' 'Bullshit. You don't kid about that.' And then that works. That's where the characters were.
I don't know. That's something that for my character you don't play and you don't kid around about life and death stuff. That's such a place that you don't go for me. I personally understand that. It's kind of like that thing where you're in school…remember when you wanted to skip school and then some kids would come and say, 'Because my grandmother is sick.' And you're like, 'Don't be teasing about that because you know what's going to happen.' So I remember about those kinds of things. I remember in school. If you are going to fib, remember what you say because it might come full circle on you. I don't know. I just thought of that, but that's kind of a similar sort of situation. You don't really tease about life and death. There's nothing funny about that.”
