Actor Matthew McConaughey has shared the key principle that has helped sustain his 14-year marriage to Camila Alves: maintaining a synchronized pace in the relationship.
In a recent interview with Fox News Digital, McConaughey, who is promoting his new film "The Rivals Of Amziah King," explained that partnerships often experience phases where one individual is advancing more rapidly than the other. He emphasized the importance of bridging this gap.
"You got times where one seems to be affirming and sprinting ahead," McConaughey said. "And you got times when somebody else may be a little more insecure or a little more unstable on their feet about their choices and what they're doing." He added that the goal is to "try not to get too much of a gap between those two stages."
McConaughey suggested a strategy of mutual adjustment, stating, "Is there a way to go, 'I'll slow down so you can catch up, or 'You slow down so I can catch up a little bit?' Not asking you to not be in the lead because I want you to be in the lead because when the fire's hot, keep it burning. Go, go, go, go, go. But just keep me in arm's length over here. Keep me in arms length."
McConaughey and Alves married in June 2012, after meeting in 2006. They have three children: Levi, 18, Vida, 16, and Livingston, 13.
Reflections on Faith and Politics
McConaughey also recently met with Pope Francis at the Vatican. Discussing the encounter with Fox News Digital, he reflected on the Pope's role as a moral compass and the relationship between faith and politics.
"He noted that while there's a separation between church and state, there's still 'values of politics' that 'need to come down through certain religious aspects, I believe. And they're even built on those in some way. Yeah, I understand law is separate from belief or values, so to speak, but they're always going to be intrinsically aligned and should be in some way,'" McConaughey stated. He drew a parallel to the current discussions surrounding Artificial Intelligence, noting, "We're trying to figure out the standards of A.I., you know, what are the morals and ethics and the values that we need to set as a standard within A.I. – that's becoming this new power and platform and tool in our lives."
When asked what he discussed with the Pope, McConaughey responded, "That's between he and I."
New Film and Musicality
In his new film, "The Rivals Of Amziah King," opening Aug. 14, McConaughey portrays Amziah King, a character described as a musician, beekeeper, and community leader in Oklahoma. The plot involves his former foster daughter's return and threats to his honey business.
McConaughey related to the film's characters, noting similarities to people he knew growing up in Texas. He highlighted the role of music in maintaining hope and belief, especially when daily life presents challenges. "Music and belief are like, 'Hey, we're gonna play through the struggle. We're going to sing through it. We're going to dance through it, we're going to say that any time is a good time to put you in the spotlight and say, you're on, go,'" he explained.
The actor also shared that he performed both singing and playing instruments in the movie, finding it more challenging than anticipated. "Singing and playing at the same time is not as easy as I thought," he admitted. He described the character as "very musical" and mentioned that while he typically keeps a set of djembes in his trailer, the coordination required for singing and playing simultaneously proved difficult. "It's a very musical character and I actually got to play and sing in this and that was a hell of a lot of fun," he added. "And I had a lot of help from the real musicians that were there."