Matthew McConaughey Was Convinced by a ‘Fortune Teller Guru’ to Star in ‘How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days’
Before Matthew McConaughey said alright, alright, alright to leading “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days,” he needed a little divine intervention.
The Oscar winner recalled during an oral history for the 20th anniversary of the beloved rom-com, co-starring Kate Hudson, that a chance encounter with a “fortune teller guru” convinced him to accept the part.
“I remember considering whether I was going to do it or not one night while on a walk down Sunset Boulevard when 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?’ I was like, ‘Yeah, man. Sure,'” McConaughey told Vanity Fair. “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 added, “I remember thinking, ‘Did the studio hire this guy?’ 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 “True Detective” alum reflected on the legacy of the film itself, saying, “It’s really fun as the audience member to be in on the joke with one character while the other one is not. ‘How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days’ has so much fun audience engagement and participation in this way.”
Co-star Kathryn Hahn shared that romantic leads McConaughey and Hudson “just had this golden aura around them” of “generosity, fire, and fizz” that translated to the screen. “Clearly all these years, later, [it’s] so rare,” Hahn said. “[Matthew] was a total pleasure. What a peach of a person.”
Hudson recently looked back on “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days” and stated that rom-coms are “dumbed down” nowadays. “The ones that we love are with two movie stars in a love story. They’re shiny and they’re bright and it’s like wish fulfillment,” Hudson said. “It’s supposed to make you feel fuzzy, and then they stay with you forever. They’re the most classic.”
The “Glass Onion” actress continued, “But just because they’re supposed to feel bright doesn’t mean they need to look so bright. A lot of times, again, I think the genre gets kind of dumbed down because they think they know. And then the chemistry…so I’m grateful that it was me and Matthew [McConaughey] because he’s a blast.”
