Matthew McConaughey reveals he nearly quit acting

Matthew McConaughey has admitted he nearly quit acting soon after his career took off.

The actor has revealed that he considered other career avenues while he took a two-year break from Hollywood several years ago, telling how he took a self-enforced rest from acting after he felt he'd become trapped in the 'rom com' genre.

"I've usually zigged when I felt like Hollywood wanted me to zag. When I had my rom-com years, there was only so much bandwidth I could give to those, and those were some solid hits for me," Matthew told Interview magazine. "But I wanted to try some other stuff."

He said the decision to step away was "scary" and recalled how he had "long talks" with his wife Camila Alves McConaughey about "needing to find a new vocation".

Those ideas included working as a teacher, studying to conduct music, or working as a wildlife guide.

"I honestly thought, 'I stepped out of Hollywood. I got out of my lane.' The lane Hollywood said I should stay in and Hollywood's like, 'Well, f**k you, dude. You should have stayed in your lane. Later,'" he said.

He added, "It was scary. But I made up my mind that that's what I needed to do, so I wasn't going to pull the parachute and quit the mission I was on. But it was scary, because I didn't know if I was ever going to get out of the desert."

Matthew didn't appear in any movies between 2007 and 2010, after he'd had hits including The Wedding Planner and How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days. After his return to Hollywood, he won an Oscar for his role in Dallas Buyers Club in 2014.