KVSP Matthew McConaughey says a fortune-teller led him to ‘How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days’
Written by ABC Audio ALL RIGHTS RESERVED on February 3, 2023
He’s an Oscar winner now, but Matthew McConaughey‘s good fortunes in Hollywood may just be owed to a random fortune-teller.
Vanity Fair recently published an oral history of one of McConaughey’s earliest hits, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, in celebration of its upcoming 20th anniversary, and in the story, he explains what led him to the film.
“I remember considering whether I was going to do it or not one night while on a walk down Sunset Boulevard,” McConaughey recalls. “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?'”
The star agreed. “‘He immediately goes, ‘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.'”
McConaughey admits he “laughed at the thought” the studio may have hired the guy just to sway the actor’s opinion. At any rate, it worked. “I think I even accepted the offer the next day,” McConaughey says.
Notwithstanding the street soothsayer’s encounter, McConaughey’s eventual co-star, Kate Hudson, pushed behind the scenes for him to get the role of her love interest, Benjamin Barry. The Almost Famous alumna recalls, “Matthew came up in a meeting and I thought that was a great idea. I loved his energy. We immediately just got along.”
The rest, as they say, is history: How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days earned more than $177 million at the box office worldwide.
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