Sundance 2013: Matthew McConaughey Says Family Comes Before Work

Also, find out why the dad of the three prefers to be in front of the camera, instead of behind it

By Marc Malkin Jan 20, 2013 6:01 PMTags
Camila Alves, Matthew McConaughey, Levi, Vida Ralph/PacificCoastNews.com

Ask most actors in Hollywood if they'd like to direct some day and the resounding answer is, "Yes!"

But that's not the case for Matthew McConaughey. The Magic Mike actor says he doesn't want too much work to keep him him away from with his wife, Camila Alves, and their three children, Levi, 4, Vida, 3, and baby Livingston, who is just about three weeks old.

"When you've got family, you have to pick your extracurriculars," McConaughey told me last night at the Sundance Film Festival, where he was celebrating his new drama Mud with a dinner at the Grey Goose Blue Door lounge.

"Whoever has kid knows that, man," he said. "You have to pick and choose and go wait, which is the one I really want to do because I ain't watching all the Saturday's football and I'm not watching all of Sunday's. I'm not going to be a kayaker, a snow skier and a marathon runner. No, you gotta zero in when you got kids and a family."

Besides, he said, he doesn't really have a desire to go behind the camera.

"I'm really enjoying being an actor for hire," he said. "I've been offered to produce some things and I've said, 'No thank you.'… I'm really enjoying my time getting ready for a role, my man, my characters, going to work, doing my best to nail it, finishing work and going, 'That was a beautiful time. Thank you. See you down the road. I'm going back to my family.'"