Joe Rogan Experience #1552 - Matthew McConaughey

[Laughter]. [Music]. hello matthew. hello joe what's going on man you got a. book out. got a book out got green lights trying. to catch him trying to create him. what makes a guy who is successful as. you as an actor what makes you want to. expose. more of yourself because that's kind of. what you're doing by writing a memoir. right you're exposing your thought.

process. your your your life your lessons. another another way of communicating uh. you know what i do. my day job as an actor um. it's got four filters from the raw. expression. there's what i've there's my raw. expression there is what's being. recorded there's what's being. edited and there's what's being put on. the screen. um i wanted to do something where i got. rid of the filters. writing a book there is one filter.

because it's the written word. um what you do what we're doing now when. you do stand up. that's no filters you know that's the. direct it's live. the the big show is always recording uh. sort of ultimate goal but i wanted to uh. i wanted to put it down and say hey i. want to. i'm part of these movies they're usually. written by somebody else directed by. somebody else. edited by someone else finance but. someone was like no i want to go direct. my own movie i want to produce my own. movie while i do that i want to put the.

words on a page and i'd been writing for. 36 years so i had. a lot of content to go through and see. if it was something worthy of sharing. yeah so you've been keeping a journal. for 36 years. yeah what made you start doing that i. think. probably in the beginning the usual. reason someone writes in a journal you. know. well my heart's broken gretchen donnelly. broke up with me. on my face why do i only have peach fuzz. over my pecker and everyone else. and then in my early 20s um i remember.

i was i was kind of rolling i was in. college i had a job i had money in my. pocket i had a nice girlfriend. making my grades my relationships were. good. and i remember going oh you hadn't been. writing in your journal near as much. notice you don't do that so much johnny. when things are going well and i said. i think you better start writing down. things when things are going well. i mean my go my idea was that hey you're. going to get in a rut again. you'll lose your frequency again in life. you might want this to go back and look.

at to help you recalibrate and that. proved to be true. um you know so many times we dissect. failure and. and and hardships my life but we don't. dissect success. and going back in those journals i found. that there were times when i. got in a rut later and i was able to go. back to those journals and go what were. your habits when you were rolling man. who were you hanging out with where were. you going what were you eating what were. you drinking how much. how much sleep were you getting how are. you looking at life and. they'd helped me recalibrate in the. times when i was off frequency and get.

back on the rails again and find my. frequency again. what were the things that when things. were going great what. what was what were the common factors. common factors were one. check in with yourself before checking. in with the world when you wake up in. the morning. um really to sit there and take a little. time um. read a little something that's between. me and me write a little something. that's between me and me before picking. up the damn phone and saying hey what. emails came in. or hopping out in the kitchen and going. and everyone else is already up going. hey hey what's up.

take take take take 10 minutes to check. in. with me before checking in with the. world um. what were the other things sense of. humor sense of humor. um i found that i was laughing more um. my happiest time in my life when i got. my wink back. man when i got my wink if i lose my wink. it's like oh i'm taking things too. seriously. um so i had. i had more of a sense of humor um didn't. they take things as personal. in in many ways um and.

wasn't asking permission as much. when i was rolling asking permission. like what do you mean by that. well just asking permission about going. you know having the confidence to. believe in something i want to do and. just doing it. and saying hey if you ask permission. you're already creating one of those. filters. away from the raw expression just do it. it's live don't. you can what you're saying what it. sounds like is like you almost like. self-medicated with a type of medication.

or a type of meditation that you. invented yourself. you almost like figured out a meditation. because that's what people who meditate. that's what they say to do take an you. know x amount of time. 10 20 whatever it is minutes out of the. day. focus on your breathing clean the mind. out of anxiety and stress. and if you do that on a regular basis. you'll have a happier life. and you seem to have figured that out on. your own or did you read books about.

doing this i think i figured it out on. my own i mean the other thing that i. didn't tell you was to book in the day. before i say my prayers at night to go. through the day. which i don't know about you but it can. be hard to remember what you had for. breakfast. after dinner when you're going to bed it. can be hard to remember what those first. things we did in the day so. i'll go back through my day when i'm. happiest i go back to my day. and i like to write a mental note of. what is tomorrow. what are my plans for tomorrow um that's. a big stress reliever.

for for me um i i think i learned it on. my own. i've always been a list keeper i love. making a long list of things to do. during the day and i add. everything i add the simple things that. you know you're going to do anyway. in in the list you know like kiss your. wife. you know what i mean drop a deuce. whatever. it is i i write things that i'm going to. do just so it's more to mark off the. list. you write you write down you have to. take a [ __ ]. like really just remember you know enjoy.

enjoy that or read something. read something funny or or have a listen. to that favorite tune of yours. something that i know because the longer. the list the more things i can mark off. that day the more i feel like i. accomplished and the more it makes it. kind of easy to do the hard stuff you. know. i yeah i do that with some things that i. have to do like exercise. and writing i do that with some things. but it seems like you're. very meticulous with this yeah i go. through hot streaks and cold streaks on. it. you know i do it more times than others.

but i've found that those are the common. denominators some of the things i do. when i. am the most happy i'm not a big. meditator. but my exercise i call breaking a sweat. once a day. exercising i find for me that is. necessary because it puts a demarcation. between all of. my responsibilities and i could. sometimes look up. you know how it is if sometimes you go. through the day or days and you're so. busy. and i'm i'm good on autopilot getting. stuff done but. everything you have to do stress comes.

when those responsibilities feel like. they're stacked vertically. on our shoulders and there's a. proverbial weight. on our shoulders when i go break a sweat. all of a sudden all those things that. were stacked vertically on my shoulders. my responsibilities. lay down and they're laterally out in. front of me. so there's no more weight on my shoulder. and i find that i get those things done. better and with more enjoyment if i just. go oh there they are in front of you. just handle one then hop to the next one. handle that and hop to the next one and. handle that. i handle much more better but i need. those i see demarcations between.

my responsibilities if i go break a. sweat. yeah i couldn't agree more with that i. think there's there's a biological need. for that when human beings are under. pressure. because i think the way our bodies are. set up pressure. historically genetically meant your life. was in danger. and you had to exert energy and your. body stored up this energy you you had. adrenaline rushes you had anxiety you. had all these different. physical needs that you had to take care. of and if you don't exert. energy those physical needs are not met.

your body's confused it stores up a lot. of this and you just. you get anxious you yell at red lights. and people just. freak out generally your tolerance for. [ __ ] is way lower. but if you can just get that physical. need taken care of you're way. better at handling life way better. way better yeah i couldn't tell people. that enough. i'm a broken record with it i say it too. much and i i love.

hearing people like yourself successful. people. that have thought about a lot of the. various aspects of. what's good and bad about their life. expressed that because i think. everyone needs to hear it it's just we. need to hear it from enough people so. that it just get becomes ingrained in. everyone's head. every day brush your teeth every day. break a sweat just just go do it i mean. it's good for so many things yeah. you know people talk about oh you know. no stress i'm like well [ __ ] yeah.

the stress is probably fine it means you. give a damn you know what i mean. you're gonna have stress you're supposed. to have stress but i know i handle. things better. and more thoroughly and more like myself. like i want to. the outcome is always better and i enjoy. doing it more if. i do go break that sweat and get those. endorphins going. and that presses reset for me and it. shows me a little it separates all the. events like i said laterally and they. don't feel like they're stacked up on. top of me. yeah also sleep sleep for me how much do.

you get a night. nine and a half i love it. that's great i wish i could do that god. damn. when i get a nine and a half out an hour. night oh my god i feel so good the next. day. i feel amazing i feel like a newer. person. well my i'm lucky i have a wife that. says. no no you get your nine and a half i'll. get my seven. because i'd rather handle the stuff i. handle that you don't while you're. sleeping than be around you when you. hadn't had enough sleep.

ah well you set it up right. yeah i i can't stress that enough too. sleep is is everything. sleep exercise health keep the body. functioning correctly. all those things they they they're not. just. it's it's not a vanity thing and it's. not a laziness. thing it's literally like it improves. the quality of the way the mind. functions. and you get better things done your the. quality of your work will be better. definitely think more clearly you don't. waste your time chasing down [ __ ].

you don't you know you do the right kind. of work. you know we all know that i i love hard. work but i've got many times in my life. where i'm doing the wrong kind of work. i love the kind of work where i've. accomplished what i needed to do during. the day. and i lay my head on the pillow and i'm. exhausted because i got. done what i needed to get done as best i. could i do not like the exhaustion at. the end of the day where i'm like. man i feel like i was just going to. revolutions man i don't know if today. had any ascension to it i didn't build. anything and today was a. i don't know if i maybe i went backwards.

you know i don't like that kind of. exhaustion. um and that's the kind of exhaustion. that actually i don't go to sleep well i. actually keeps me up. the only thing i get good out of those. shitty days is a desire to never have. those shitty days. again i think the the good the good. aspects of negative feelings is. recognizing how good positive feelings. are how good. the feelings of accomplishment are by. failing and. that's why we're talking about you know. like no stress. just live in peace that's a crock of. [ __ ] that's like never feel bad.

well then you're never going to. appreciate feeling good like. yeah i need hills and valleys i'm with. you. uh 100 on that i mean i write in my book. you know and i get asked a lot do you. believe in fear. and i'm like well hell yeah i believe in. the future who the [ __ ] doesn't believe. in fear. well you know you see there's like no. fear oh those people are so silly. like no no no no i do and they're like. do you do fear i said i have fear every. single day it's the overcoming of the.

fear. or i know being raised you know we were. a physical disciplined family. we got we got the belt we didn't get. grounded my parents motto was. we're not going to ground you because. that takes away your time and your time. is your most valuable thing no we never. got. injured we just get hurt at the time you. cried and it was over with but there. were things that i did not do growing up. and still do not do. for fear of the consequences that. your works for me gone i retired things. i did not do growing up going like no.

that'd be a lot of fun but. not so much not more fun than how much. it's gonna suck if i get caught. [Laughter]. physical consequences are it's a very. controversial subject. because a lot of people think i don't. hit my kids. but a lot of people that i know who are. my age were hit. when they were young and they look back. on it and they say you know what. i learned from that and my parents. didn't they didn't. beat me they physically punished me for.

something that i did wrong. and they they didn't do it to be. sadistic they did it because they cared. about me and that's how they were raised. it's a very controversial subject. because people get up in arms with the. idea of hitting. children you know so yeah you bringing. it up that that it was beneficial to you. is going to have a lot of people's. hackles raised sure and i get asked all. the time. and i've shared it openly how i was. raised and what kind of corporal. punishment we got. i don't choose to you know discipline my.

children the same way my parents did. but i've said this before i wouldn't. trade one. single of those ass weapons i got for. the values that were instilled in me. from getting them and i'm very clear and. was at the time. that i earned every one i got. i earned everyone and. we were family you know my parents were. like we get it over with. and over take it and it's over and we. don't hold grudges no one's going to. speak of it again. and if you got in trouble that was the.

night dad would take us across town to. our favorite burger joint and let us. stay as late as we wanted. it was and it was over um you got more. trouble if you brought something back. up you know to somebody in the family. yeah but what about when you do that no. no they already got in trouble for that. you don't bring it back up you could not. go to sleep in our family holding a. grudge. my parents would stay up all night and. let you miss school to sit there and. keep hashing out until we could hug it. out. cry it out and say i love you and move. on sounds like you had. a wise family i mean it's it's a.

controversial thing to say. if they hit you and a lot of people. would say. there's other ways to do it but the way. they. made you hug it out and stay up all. night and communicate it sounds very. wise. i think it was you know i don't uh you. know like i said. i don't choose to discipline my kids the. way my parents discipline me. but i damn sure don't judge them or say. what they did was wrong. came from a different era as well right. yeah. yeah that's a thing that is very.

difficult for people to. come to grips with is that you know. human beings that were raised 30 40 50. 60 years ago they. it was a different world it just was. different. and we know more now and like you're. saying you do not choose to discipline. your children that way. but it was so common back then. it was yeah i mean it was you know. my parents were probably thought they. were taking it easy on their boys.

more than their parents treated them yes. they probably had it much more harsh. yeah um. you know and it's a it's a like i said i. there are things i did not do that i. should not have done. for fear hitting my backside. so you know there's value in that in. that fear and consequences. and consequences go both ways you know. there's goblins in the bathroom there's. a consequence for everything we do but. there were. definitely things i didn't do that i. should not have done uh for the fear of. the consequences.

that were useful to me is this. the writing of this book is some of it. almost like like letters. to your younger self like a lesson. to people who are like you coming up. because one of the things that's so. beneficial. uh to young people with reading. autobiographies and memoirs of. successful people lived. extraordinary lives is you get to see. all the thought process you get to see. the the warts.

the failures the the whole thing the. fears the anxiety you get to see it all. so you go. oh that matthew mcconaughey guy he's a. normal dude. he's not just the guy from dallas buyers. club and all these movies. he's a normal human being and maybe. i can one day achieve heights. like him as well or. maybe i i read this book and i'm someone. who feels like. you know as we often do when we're going.

through a crisis that we're the only. ones. and it's only happened to me i'm the. center of the universe no one else will. understand and you can read and go. well here's a guy who's successful who. shoot i even maybe thought he just kind. of rolls out of bed and makes everything. look easy which you find out. i i try to work to get to that point but. maybe you look and you hear and you go. oh he went through some similar things i. share some stories in here that are very. subjective to me. but the more subjective and personal i. got the more i found that oh these are. more relatable to the more amount of. people. out there so you may read a story and go.

i have that story a similar story in my. life. well here's how mcconaughey handled it. or wished he would have handled it or. here's some help he got along the way. here's somewhere where he's. he took a walk about with himself and. found out some things about himself. maybe that's something i could do for. myself so there are some tools in the. book for someone to see themselves in. and help navigate our way out of crisis. red and yellow lights but also how to. navigate things when we are catching. green lights because. i have a chapter here called the art of. running downhill.

um you know i i self-sab i've. self-sabotaged myself when things were. going too well before. um until i learned that that really. wasn't my right. to to put a roof over my expectations. for myself and who the hell did i think. i was. well that's more common than not isn't. it there's the people get. what they call uh was imposter syndrome. you know it's you don't feel like you. deserve all the good things that are. happening to you. and it just seems odd you see it happen. to other people it almost makes sense. you see other people being very.

successful. it you're detached but when it's. happening to you it's almost like this. this is uncomfortable because this is. not normal. and so i'm gonna [ __ ] this up so that i. i feel. like i used to feel before which at. least even if it was failure. it's comfortable i'm accustomed to it i. need some resistance. yes you know and look and i think. there's very healthy. ways to create resistance in our lives. when we are on so-called easy street. yeah that maybe not challenging.

ourselves in the right way you know that. we need to create resistance to overcome. it. to feel most alive but there's also. foolish times to create resistance and. the fact of that. is things are going so well you think. that's how it's going to be for the rest. of your life no trust me the uphill's. coming the drama the real drama is. coming don't create any false. drama in front of you right now because. you're kind of patronizing yourself. the real drama is going to come someone. is going to get sick you are going to. get hurt. something will happen in your life the. world will do unto you or you'll do it. unto yourself. so don't trip yourself running downhill.

and face plant. and break your freaking nose just. because you needed some resistance. running downhill. yeah because it must be that uphill is. coming you know what i mean but. to go back to the first part of that i'm. i'm a big fan of creating. resistance to keep myself in check and. to make sure. that i'm feeling most alive to overcome. the right things in my life. yeah me as well i i find physical. resistance is the best thing to calm my. mind. and and to provide physical challenges. that allow me to.

it allows me to deal with uh success. easier because there's [ __ ] that i. have to deal with but the [ __ ] is. physical. and it's sometimes is challenging. mentally to do. you know like very physically exerting. exercises or. particularly jiu jitsu or martial arts. because it just. it breaks you down and so then the the. other stuff. that's sort of it seems like it should. be. complicated but it's not you don't know. why you don't sweat it as much.

wait it sobers you up yes in a very. literal way in in the same way. it's a daily routine to sober yourself. up to to throw off the mendacious. [ __ ] in your life that you were so. concerned about. and get down to what really needs to. happen mountains become mole hills. you know it it it's you know big moments. in our life sober us up too i know my. father moving on and passing on from. this life. sobered me up in a way that i then. stepped up and said oh. you don't have your dad to rely on. anymore to catch you when you fall.

all these things he's been teaching you. that you've been kind of making b. b minuses in life now you better start. making a's at him because. he's not there so you better take some. ownership and i remember when he moved. on. i carved this in a tree be less. impressed more involved. and what it was as soon as he passed. away i noticed that all the things that. i was revering in life. mortally like the fame people that. success. money they lowered down to eye level.

things that i was looking up at and all. the things that i was patronizing and. condescending and going i was sloughing. off that's not worthy of me. they rose up to eye level and i remember. saying boy the world is flat i'm looking. it in the eye. i see further i see wider i see clearer. um i've got to take ownership of myself. and i stood with my heart higher i stood. my head higher and i walked forward and. started doing things and that way that i. was saying er without asking so much. permission all the time and got a lot. more done and became a lot more.

myself and found more satisfaction yeah. sometimes people do need. some wake-up call to let you know that. this is a temporary existence. and make the best out of it and enjoy. and sometimes it doesn't happen unless. something tragic happens like they are. in a terrible way but also a beautiful. way there's a lot of power and tragedy. because you you get something on the. other end of it. and you get clarity we will get.

some clarity out of this tragic and. awkward time of covid. yes there are lessons we're learning. that we don't even know what they are. right now. that when we get out of it will. inherently be part of our being that. will go forward i sure as hell hope so. but you know us humans we're quick to. snap right back to how we were before. yeah my concern is that it's t it's. happening so fast. but it's going to take a long time to. sort of even out. and for us to reach equilibrium. that's what i'm worried about with this.

wait that what's happening. deterioration that you know the. financial deterioration the fear the. changes with the masks and the social. distancing and. everything is happening so fast i'm. worried it's just going to take a long. time before people feel comfortable. again. oh yeah i mean look i think for for. for millions of people yeah. this the new normal i think i don't. think we're ever. really going back to how it was i mean.

this is a year that. agree or disagree with how we've gone. about it and how things have been. politicized here and there this is a. year that have. shaken our floor i don't believe this is. ever this. year is going to be on page 14 of the. news for quite some time. i think we got a lot of rebuilding to do. in the long term it may be a. 20-year build yeah i know i agree. it's uh it's just strange it just feels. strange you go outside the world just. feels. different than it felt a year ago and.

that's. that phrase the new normal that people. like to bring up and this is uh this is. where we find ourselves but i. along with you i'm i'm almost always. optimistic. and uh i have a lot of faith in human. beings and i think that. we can get through this and and have a. very valuable lesson. about when things do happen that are. positive and good. maybe we won't take it for granted as. much as we did before because we never. thought that something like this was. ever gonna come along where. the whole world was gonna shut down for.

seven eight nine ten who knows how many. months. yeah forced winter yeah we had one first. upon us in something that we don't. take enough time to force upon ourselves. and choose upon ourselves to do. you know you talked about optimism which. i'd love to open that up with you and. faith in mankind. and i was asked the other day about how. do i trust. and this is a time in the world where. there's great distrust and people don't. believe you don't just trust you don't. you don't trust others you end up not. trusting yourself.

et cetera that's a rest of process it. goes back and forth and then everyone's. walking in circles. but my answer and i never thought about. it until this guy asked me i was like. well. like i'm talking to you right now joe i. give you you have 100. of my trust until you don't. i'm not coming in hedging my bet with. you or anyone that i meet for the first. time i'm not coming in like well. you're gonna have to really earn your. trust with me i'm looking out for you. no you have a hundred percent you may. ask me some questions right now that i'm. like going i think he's getting.

something else that's not really in my. best interest and maybe then you start. losing some of my trust but as of right. now we meet you have a hundred percent. until it starts to decrease and that's. all that's up to you i try to go. towards everybody like that first. so how is that and let's talk about. optimism because. there's foolish optimism there's like. and i don't think what you and i are. saying is hey. class half full always see it half full. no. let's recognize that it's half empty.

that's the inevitable part it's half. empty or tap full. now what's the constructive way forward. what can you do something with the. the half the glass got nothing in it or. a half it's got something in it. well i think what i can do is is with. the half it's got something in it make. something. it irrigates and create more water so i. can fill it up i mean it's. choosing where can we be constructive. and in the af. choose the affirmative and that's not a. foolish optimism because. a lot of times i think certain optimisms. hallmark card optimisms can. almost deny that there was the other.

half of glass that was. empty or denied it's a problem and i'm. not into. i'm not not really a purchaser of. denying where there's a problem. you've got you've got what i call. whiskey philosopher wisdom. like if you and i were having a couple. of drinks at the bar. i have a feeling you would say some cool. [ __ ]. that i would remember and i would take. home and i'd go hmm i'd be like lying in. bed going damn. i'm gonna remember that that makes a lot.

of sense. where'd you get that from ah i think i. mean i grew up in. founded storytellers i love drinks i. love. bumper stickers i love slogans i love to. deconstruct a big conversation down to. what's a one-liner what's the title of. that song we just sang. what's the title of this you know this. hour or whatever you and i. talk um what's the title of a. relationship i have what's the. and you get enough of those things oh. what's the album title um. i i think of things lyrically and i.

think that may be where it comes from as. i think in a musical in a musical way is. this. something you've acquired is this. something you always had or you just. sort of. slowly developed it i think i'm guessing. it was slowly developed i mean again i. come from a from a. family of storytellers where we sat. around the table and told stories and if. you didn't tell your story good. somebody else the table took it over and. you speak up you better be telling a. good story and not dragging on or losing. your train of thought because somebody. else will step in and. roll over you right so when you wanted.

to get a word in. you better be a good storyteller well is. that how you got into acting. like this the ability to entertain. because the storyteller is essentially. an entertainer. sure well i went to film school first. because. when i look back at the diaries i really. couldn't admit that i wanted to be in. front of the camera as an actor. but that's what i really wanted to do um. but i went to film school because i felt. like. being a storyteller behind the camera. was something that. my dad one could digest as a possible.

route forward for his son and it was all. that i could digest at the time. um so when i made the leap to film. school i immediately. would direct actors by performing myself. in front of the camera. so i really liked the the the first. person subjective performance. and then i got that that job in that. summer of 92 on days confused. where i ended up three lines turned into. three weeks work i'm getting paid 320. bucks a day. people tell me i'm good at it i keep. getting invited back to set i'm like. is this [ __ ] legal um yes.

and so i went back graduated picked up. and. packed up my u-haul and drove west young. man you know two weeks out of. out of graduating college and. you know i didn't have that story. of roughing it when i first got out. there first two auditions i went on i. got the job. that's pretty [ __ ] amazing yeah did. you when when you say that. you you didn't want to admit that you. wanted to be. in front of the camera like what do you.

think was holding you back. i think it was the id look i was raised. in a blue collar family where you get a. job you work your way up the ladder. company ladder. to be in the arts to be in front of a. camera the actors sounded so. vain sounded so avant-garde sounded so. european. sounded so so so nothing stable about it. and so to bring that up to my dad. even bring it up like i said i could it. was not even in the vernacular of my. dreams i did not even dream about the. only place that i admitted it was in my.

diaries. and i found those where i wrote to. myself before i could even. consciously admit it that i did want to. be an. actor all the way back since 1988. but i never admitted it until i started. doing it and. it was turned in about 1993 that i was. like okay. i think i can do this i'm giving it a. shot and i love this. it's totally understandable that you. would fall into some form. of self-sabotage if it came that easy.

if all of a sudden you're on dazed and. confused all of a sudden you do your. first two auditions you get the gig. everything's rolling you're young and. handsome whoo. come on dream night. i mean how did you self-correct. tell you what i did i uh i got. it really happened around 96 after i did. a film with time to kill. i remember the friday before time to. kill open that's the movie that. that i was the lead in a big budget john.

grisham movie that was the one that made. me. famous all right so the friday before. that movie opened. i you know there's a hundred scripts i. wanted to do. i would have done anything to do any of. these scripts 99 no you can't. one yes you can i'm walking down the. third street promenade in santa monica. 400 people in the promenade 396 minding. their own business. four of them checking me out two girls. that thought i was cute and a couple. other people maybe like my shoes.

the monday following that weekend time. to kill opens that night. the monday following all of a sudden. out of those 100 scripts 99 yeses you. can do any of these matthew. one no all of a sudden that same. promenade walk i took. 400 people now 396 were staring at me. and four people weren't one of them was. blind all right it was it inverted the. world became a mirror i noticed oh [ __ ]. i don't need any strangers anymore. people are coming up to me going like. i'm so sorry about miss hud and i'm. going.

wait a minute number one what's your. name i've never met you how'd you know i. had a dog. whose name is miss hud and has cancer. you just skipped five. filters of howdy you know what i mean. and i remember feeling unbalanced about. it. i'm 23 at that time. i'm being told i love you i love you and. in my mind i'm going man we don't throw. that word around i've said that to four. people in my life. uh so i wanted to know what the heck was. real what really mattered and.

i was looking for a place to go. i needed to get out i needed to go those. demarcations we talked about earlier i. needed to go break a long sweat i needed. to go out and let memory catch up see. what the hell was real what was not. so i packed up my stuff um. i went to a monastery for about a week. and then. i got back and i went off i had this. certain dream a rep. repeating dream that came to me and i. went to peru and floored the amazon. for 22 days and it was a forced solitude.

nobody there knew my name they didn't. speak english. i was forced to be with myself and my. thoughts in my own company which i was. not enjoying. so after about 12 days of shaking the. monkeys off my back figuring out what. the hell i was going to forgive myself. for and. what i was going to lay down the hammer. and say enough's enough about. um i came out of it woke up one morning. light as a feather and. shook hands with myself and said we're. going to be all right man uh you're the. one person i can't get rid of. mcconaughey so we might as well get. along. and reentered and that recalibration.

helped a lot. to disseminate through all the [ __ ]. and all the excess of affluence that was. coming at me at the time. and i found some discernment you know i. found some discrimination in my choices. again. um and moved on from there but i've had. to do that i've had to take off on my. own. many times to go recalibrate that sounds. like. a story of a man running and the rocks. fall right behind him. like you just missed it like also 23. years old you weren't a child star. but it was damn close like.

we all know what happens when your. personality develops. in the spotlight and you're famous. almost no one gets out alive. i mean and i understand it i i i wasn't. ready. to go out to hollywood before i did. hollywood's not a place to go find. yourself. hollywood's a place where you can be. anything you want it's infinite yeses. well then the infinite yeses as you know. the all. the infinite options can make a tyrant. of any of us what is that noise that.

keeps going off is that on your end. that's on my end what is it i think it's. emails coming in. it's a crazy ding thing. sign it is that what you get when you. get emails that would annoy. the [ __ ] out of me what's yours do. nothing. nothing i don't i check them once a day. oh see i don't text you know i don't i. like to email more than text. because i can press i can flag an email. i can't flag a text i wish text would.

allow me to flag it oh i'm going to save. that to answer it later. and if i would just do text i may forget. you wrote and then. two weeks later ago i never wrote him. back right i do that. where's my delete it doesn't go ding. i don't know i maybe jody foster made it. out alive. she might be the only i mean you worked. with her did she. nor did she make it out alive of being a. child of fame. she made it out alive you know she was.

yeah she was was she the coppertone girl. on the beach. she was a bunch of things she she wasn't. she in taxi driver. yeah i mean man she did you know who. else did ron howard. yes he did he's a very nice guy i ran. into him at a doctor's office he. couldn't have been nicer. and more normal and really enjoyed. talking to him. yeah solid um you know but i don't know. i've never talked to. them about how they navigated in their. youth. they obviously had some support because.

you know you you i see the i see parents. with their with their children and they. want them to be in from the camera and. i've even seen some. set that we work with and the mothers. behind the camera like olin mills. photography going. cheese say cheese and the director you. go no no no no no. this is not olin mills we just want the. the child to be himself for herself. if they have the confidence to be. themselves in front of camera don't be. acting like anything this is not a.

olin mills photo shoot um and so a lot. of times. i've seen the parents they're the ones. that actually. need the recalibration yeah um to go. whoa. don't be you're making your child. doesn't know who he or she is yet. and yet you're forcing them to try and. be someone else and that's their reality. there's danger in that yeah sure no. there really is it's it's very. unfortunate when you see that. um you've worked with kids that have had. to play. your kid like is that.

does that feel conflicted to you when. that happens like you almost like. don't want them to do it no i i that's. been some of my most comfortable roles. as playing. a father or a father figure and i think. that's because. the one thing i always knew i wanted to. be in life as a father i knew that since. i was eight years old what i mean is for. the children themselves do you feel. weird for them. no no the kids that are playing your. child. like knowing that they're gonna be in a.

film at a really young age and they're. gonna experience all this. um i mean i'll check in with you know. again what i've noticed is it's the. parent that may need the recalibration. the kid's just fine but then you see the. the the mother or the father. loving it more than they're loving it or. loving that child. is it from the camera we're going to be. famous yeah well. you know when i can i've tried to talk. about. are your values in line here because. you're your son or daughter's. future and who they are is depending on.

how you deal with it i've also seen. parents handle it really really well. um you're going you're going to work you. have a job to do. if you have a talent to do that but you. still come home and you still do the. chores and you're still. my son or my daughter who acts just like. you do and we don't do any of that other. that bs you're not things aren't. thinking around here. and you don't want to steal i wouldn't. want i wouldn't want my child to be. raised. in hollywood by hollywood i now. you know early in my career i was like.

no i would never want my kids if i have. them. doing what i do i've completely turned. to 180 on that um. i would love if my kids got into the. industry that i'm in it's been great to. me i've met some of the most creative. awesome people in my life but. there's a time i wouldn't want them to. go find out who they. are in a hollywood in the hollywood game. by being an actor or that kind of story. tell your own i want to know their own. story first before they're going to go. tell someone else's story. yeah i've likened it to like almost like.

a chemical process like if you want to. make epoxy you have to add a bunch of. different ingredients and if you don't. add the ingredients while you're mixing. it up. it'll never be sure it'll never really. firm up it'll never be complete. and i feel like that's one of the things. that happens to a lot of child actors. like. the experience of people not knowing who. you. are you have to earn their respect you. have to earn their love. earn their friendship prove yourself not. have people love you before you even. meet them.

that's just that seems toxic for. children. it just seems crazy i think it is highly. toxic yeah. you know we started off the conversation. on this topic 10 minutes ago not many. have recovered. no not many from that the insecurity the. lack of knowing who they are. the lack of talk about resistance you. know hollywood's a place of yes. yes of course you can be whatever you. want it's halloween every day. now wait a minute if you're playing. dress-up every day and you have the. option to be whoever the heck you want.

and. you know you want to go to the club all. night uh. you can do that too everything's a yes. in those infinite yeses you can get. lost and not found um. yeah i think they you know you got to. have some structure and like i said i. went out at 22 23. i don't think i was ready to go out. there before i went out there because i. had a sense if i didn't. as much as i had a sense of who i was i. had a very clear sense of who i was. not um and that helped me because i was. able to see some things and be invited. to some things and be around some place.

so i was like you know what. this is a stop not a stay for me. this isn't really going to feed me and. it really turned me on. this is a short term uh um you know. something i'm getting that's feeding me. in the short term but this isn't gonna. last is it. really who i am yeah i've i've talked to. a few. child stars that sort of got like miley. cyrus is one that i talked to recently. and. you know you see it in the conversation. when she's describing what it was like. to grow up famous. and it's it's a very difficult path and.

i don't you know i think jody foster ron. howard there's a few that have gotten. through it. someone should actually sit down with. those folks and try to figure out what's. the common denominator. like how did they do it science there'd. be some great signs of how they did it. you know i a story about i had a. teaching tool. that had to do with something i i pulled. off in hollywood. from for my kids and i'm big on delayed. gratification. um and you know after i won the. the oscar for best actor my kids were.

like what'd you get the trophy for. and i said well you remember a year and. a half ago. we were in new orleans pop i would go. away you'd wake up in the morning i was. already at work and i'd come home. and have dinner with y'all and tuck you. in and you wake up the next morning i. was gone again and remember you said i. look like a giraffe because i was so. skinny. yeah and i go well what i was doing for. those 30 days. when i was gone all day a year and a. half later. somebody said deemed that excellent work.

and they gave me a trophy for that work. what i did a year and a half ago and. i remember i saw them click they were. like oh. oh our future is a compounding interest. you know what i mean we can ask. oh there you can build you can't do. something today and get rewarded. tomorrow um and it was it was an example. that worked. for them um of understanding. you know that you can that you can get. you can invest. and make choices to engineer more roi.

you know i know that was a milestone for. you and obviously. you won the oscar for it but there's. something about these. physical transformation roles when when. an actor. does something where you realize like. they're they're. literally torturing themselves i mean. when you would. how would you get down to how much did. you weigh. i weighed 135 and look you know this. i was not torturing myself i was. militant the hardest part was making the.

damn choice. it was my responsibility if i looked. like i do now. playing ron woodruff in dallas buyers. club you are out of the movie the first. frame oh [ __ ] he doesn't he's not. stage 4 hiv. i'm out what's my job i had to lose the. weight once i made my mind up. i did the smart thing i gave myself five. months i got on a diet. where i'd have my tapioca pudding or. whatever three eggs in the egg whites in. the morning. five ounces of fish cup of vegetables. for lunch five ounce fish cup of. vegetables for dinner. as much wine as i wanted to drink and i.

lost 2.5 pounds a week like clockwork. no exercise as much wine as you wanted. to drink. much as a one how does it eat what kind. of diet is this. it worked 2.5 pounds and it didn't. matter if i was going to. the treadmill and burning 2 000 calories. a day or not. 2.5 pounds a week clockwork and what. happened during that time this is. another reason that i really didn't. torture myself and people say oh my gosh. it's been so hard i was like no what i. learned from it. that the body is more resilient than we. give it credit for.

i the power i lost from the neck down. equally or more so sublimated to the. neck up. i was so my mental game was so acute and. so on point. i was clinically smart it didn't matter. if i drank my wine until one in the. morning. at 4 30 a.m no alarm clock bang. i was up every morning had incredible. amount of mental energy. i had no leverage from my neck down i. mean. my knees i had no insulation anywhere.

you know my body would hurt when i tried. to run. 10 feet but from here up there's some. things i actually. miss about it what do you think what was. the process like why did your. brain work better when you were starving. yourself. i think because it wasn't relying on i. think on a cellular level. i felt my body going hey he's a baseball. term. you got people over there on the bench. in the dugout then you got people out in. the field that are you know. sitting in the uh in the bullpen not.

working out. on a cellular level. cellularly my salesman that were in the. dugout and over there in the bullpen. had to get up and go whoa we're not. getting fed but we used to get fed we. gotta. we gotta exercise here we gotta come too. but hut. um because the my body's not getting. we're not getting what we used to get. um we're not placated by what we used to. get. our insulation's gone our our or what. we're relying on is go what we used to. rely on is gone so.

i think my whole body woke up and my. brain got really. super super sharp on that as well so i. think it was the going without the there. was a bit of a. it was what i went without that. sharpened up and made my brain on the. cellular level much more hungry. what do you weigh normally 188. jesus christ so you lost 50 pounds. yeah there's roles where guys do this. where it defines their career in. something like robert de niro when he. gained weight for raging bull.

uh christian bale when he did uh the. machinist yeah yeah the. there's these these roles where a guy or. a woman. just transform charlie's throne when she. played monster. they they transform their body and it's. it's like a. it's a different level of of commitment. and when you entered into that film that. was this the first time you'd ever had. to do that. yeah first time ever had to do it i mean. you you got jacked for that uh well i. don't know how jacked you were before. for that dragon movie.

i'm sorry i forget the name yeah yeah. reign of fire bringing the fight i. [ __ ] love that movie yeah. that was a great baby god miss van zandt. it was a great movie talk about a guy. who was about no [ __ ] boy that was a. sobering character i i miss that guy. yeah it was a fun character but you were. jacked in that movie were you jacked. normally or did you have to get jacked. for that movie. i got more jacked for that look our. family my dad. we we come from um our anatomy and the. mcconaughey's have a big tricep. my dad you see you'll love this i'd be.

sitting there as a kid. um and my dad was a big guy 6'4 265 you. know he. played kentucky under bear bryant got. drafted by the green bay packers he was. a big bear of a man. and he comes in the living room one. night and i'm in front of the tv. watching my favorite show incredible. hulk. and there's luke rick and i'm like. standing in front of the tv doing all. this he goes boy what you doing i was. like dad look at him man i mean he's got. these baseball sized biceps look at him. wow. and he goes uh-huh and he takes off his. shirt. and he goes let me tell you something.

son he goes that right there. he pulled his bicep he goes that's nice. makes the girl scream. you know it's for show he goes. that right there he goes that's the work. muscle. that's the one that puts the roof over. our head that's for dough. show and dough the triceps were for. dough so i. had big triceps so when i went worked.

out and if i take a little bit of. creatine my triceps go. bananas so that was a. minor transformation it wasn't that. difficult to do. no it was it was minor there's a lot a. lot of boxing. and uh um and and and just some. nice you know throwing some weight. around you just got fit. but for dallas buyers club yeah. i always try to stay within 10 pounds of. striking weight of whatever i need to do. for the roll. was it hard to make the decision to do. that for dallas buyers club though.

because that was a. giant transformation i mean. it wasn't hard i was looking for. something to be all consumed with. something to be obsessed with a singular. obsession you know this is my job so my. life. revolved around that my wife made me. meals trust me i didn't go to pizza hut. and say no thank you to the pizza i'll. have a salad i did not even put myself. in front of temptations. i was a hermit i stayed in my. wife made me the meals and and i studied.

and wrote and. created the character all day long and i. never got tired of that. so my world was i was in a bubble i just. put myself in a bubble for for. five and a half months and that. commitment to put myself on that. island to know that this is it's good to. have the singular obsession you. you cannot go far enough mcconaughey. that was there's a freedom in that. there's a freedom i've always found a. being having having a character that can. commit that much to. you cannot go far enough that that was.

your thought process. yeah i knew when i got down to 135 i was. like oh okay. that's good and mind you we'll tell you. this when i started to eat more at 135. to say let's slow this train down and. quit losing weight. my body had already got the message and. had its blinders on that we're going. south and it kept going south. so that was a bit scary because i kept. losing the weight because my body had. gotten. already gotten in the in the rhythm of. losing weight and like i said it turned. a blind eye on getting any more food so. there was a tough transition there for.

about two weeks to get my weight to. balance out again and say let's just. hold at 135. so you drop below 135 at one point in. time. just went below with 135 got down about. 132. and then brought it back up. now how long did it take for you to. physically recover from something like. that. were you back to normal man i'm still. recovering. really because i thought that i thought. that when i saw you in that film. i told my wife i remember saying this. like this is gonna take a long time for.

him to bounce back. because i know how hard it is for guys. to cut weight for fights and i i know a. lot of guys that have really depleted. their body doing that and when i saw you. that gaunt and skinny i was like he's. eating his body. your body ate itself it's the only way. yeah i look i came back and i did true. detective after that and i got on true. detective i got to about 167 and held. and i loved that weight as well because. i had a little more leverage i had a. little more athletic ability a little. more insulation around my joints.

but i was still pretty stripped and. ripped um. slowly coming back from that i did learn. this i had to come back very slowly. because i had heard stories about people. that go. well now i'm back now i'm going to gain. weight i can eat as much as i want and. that you can you can grow back and look. deformed you can your features can come. back. if you rush it they can come back in odd. ways so i very slowly. put the weight back on i then. did a roll a few years ago i guess it. was about. four three three years after dallas fire.

stopped where i put on 47 pounds. so i was 220 what was that which it had. a lot more gold it's called gold it's a. hell of a lot more fun to put that. weight on than to take it off. where i was just cheeseburger king. and my family loved me in that role. because i was captain fun i was yes to. everything milkshakes for breakfast you. got it let's go. now that was i've never talked about at. that time. i was still mentally sharp not as sharp. as i was when i was down at 135.

but at 2 20 libido was. through the roof i couldn't get i. couldn't catch a cold if i swam in the. damn canals of amsterdam man i was like. the abominable snowman. i was insulated um and had great energy. um during that time now coming back from. that i still got a couple things on my. back here around the way so i'm like. where'd that come that came up with that. rolling gold and what's that still doing. hanging around. you know so i did have to come back.

slowly. um but i will say this. you know 188. since then that's my fighting weight. before. i look a little different than the 188. before then. before dallas buyers club it's a. different 188. so it did take a physical. toll. sure i would say you know even you know. neck and things like that you know neck. and and.

you know bone structure is the same but. where and now but then how much of this. is just getting older too and having. less fat cells. right i'm not sure um but yeah it didn't. hurt. like i said i think i stretched my body. i i noticed when you know. when i got down to that weight at 135. if i you know tried to sprint 10 10. yards and i just my knees would buckle. i had no insulation and these hurt yeah. i watched it again recently just to kind. of get it into my head. and that's when i was thinking like this. is going to take a while to bounce back.

from like i almost forgot. how gaunt you got it it was it was. striking. you know and that's a [ __ ] crazy. commitment man you drinking moonshine. what are you doing there. what is this some kombucha oh. it was not neither that or whiskey a few. hours. okay yeah your kombucha guy. i love that stuff daily i do too. yeah that'll that's great for the immune. system um when.

you look at a role like a role like. dallas buyers club or something like. that. like what makes you choose a role does. it just have to resonate with you. is it who's involved who the directors. are the producers the the other actors. that are committed to it like what what. makes you. decide this is interstellar let's do it. all right well first what's the pedigree. of the people around me. the director the script uh the producers. are are they excellent are they right.

for the story. um i do look at that but the main thing. i look at is like. this character um the last. 12 years i've been able to choose. characters that's that made me shake in. my boots the right way. you know that good kind of scared where. you're like oh i don't know what the. hell i'm gonna do with this but i can't. wait to find out. um i like characters where the decisions. are really going to cost them where. there's consequences with every single. scene that they're in and the the.

favorite consequences to have are. something like a ron woodruff it's life. or death consequences something like a. van zann. how can i remain from getting becoming. extinct. you know those are great okay we brought. it down to the bare necessities. um how to survive or how to stay alive. um. from that place then i can then i can. give my all now. choosing roles where i'm not going to. have any compression. from the ceiling to the basement of the. emotions i want to give.

no one's going to tell me oh you can't. be that angry oh no one's going to tell. me you can't be that sad you can't cry. that hard no one's going to tell me you. can't laugh that hard. no one's going to tell me you can't hurt. that bad i don't like to be. i've been enjoying choosing roles that. have a really high ceiling and a. limitless ceiling in a limitless baits. basement. to where i matthew can can go as deep or. as high as i want to. with them there's a lot of roles that. i've done in my career for instance like. with romantic comedies where. those emotions are compressed for a. reason the ceiling you can't.

laugh that loud you can't love that hard. you can't get that pissed off. you'll sink the ship of those movies. they die built for buoyancy. i've been enjoying the dramatic roles. and that's what i love about drama is. that. no it's to the individual actor your. ceiling of how much you want to love or. your basement or how much you want to. hate. go for it um there is no there is no. limit on either one of those. that's the kind of role that really has. been turning me on. and that makes me feel like i'm having. an experience in the making of the movie.

in the architecture of the character. rather than just going and doing a job. and getting a paycheck. during the quarantine the lockdown my. family and i had movie night basically. every night. especially when the kids were uh doing. zoom classes. because you know it just it was we had. to do something different so. we mixed it up and we watched contact. again and i haven't seen contact in. forever. and uh first of all god damn what a good. movie that was.

good that's a good movie and a. a great movie about aliens like like a. a movie that it gives you a. different perspective on the. possibilities of contact and. and just the fact that it was a carl. sagan book and there's just so much. good to it that character that you. played. was uh as a fascinating guy and i i kind. of feel like there's some of you. in that guy sure. i mean you are you you are.

am i wrong here you are religious in. some way yeah. yeah absolutely and i want to i want to. bring this up in this day and age when. people go no i'm not religious i'm only. spiritual. you know what the latin root of religion. is. re lagare and lagare means to bind. together. re means again well in a world that's. saying i'm only spiritual because i want. unity that's exactly what religion means.

we've bastardized the meaning of it over. time. and we've excluded people and we've. corporatized and such but yes i am. religious um. that character you know i had written. stories i'd written a. college paper called john wayne goes. west and it was about how do you. how do you how can you be a believer in. a world of science. and i remember writing things like. during the make of that movie like. science is the practical pursuit of god. um the two are not exclusive.

they dance together there they they go. together. um belief in science and i never saw. those as contradictions. and that's part of what the reason i. attacked that role and became part of. that that movie i wanted to play a. person that had that point of view. of a believer in a world of science not. at the exclusion of science. and not at the exclusion of belief yeah. it's a confusing role for a lot of. people. if someone is a believer and also.

a proponent of science because they want. to know. what are your literal beliefs like d are. you taking the bible at its literal word. or do you use it as some sort of a. guidebook. of the experiences of these people that. live thousands of years ago. that have been translated from multiple. different languages back to english. and is there wisdom in those. translations is there wisdom in those. original thoughts. these thousands of years of people.

contemplating and and mulling on these. things and. that so many have used these as. a scaffolding for morals and ethics. and for societies yep. a it's it's it's i mean you know for. people that go. oh it's it's it's it's it's a it's a. circus book or people had no. non-believers and i'm like well it's. still the. the best one going um there's a lot of. great truths. that that come out of the bible and it.

is open for. a lot of people it has been interpreted. and reinterpreted it has been translated. it's been handed down. um i for myself i don't know what to do. in my daily life with the burning push i. don't know what to do with that. um i do know what to do. with love your neighbor like yourself i. do know what to do with matthew 6. 22 if they i be single that whole body. will be full of light. i do know what to do with some proverbs.

that i can take into daily practice and. go oh i felt. my life i felt improvement i felt. success in my relationships and my. relationship with the day with my career. by following that um by treating others. how i wanted to be treated the golden. rule. so i i take the practical stuff myself i. mean try to try to utilize it and then. pick out what can work for me. when you say when you say you don't know. what to do with the burning bush like. what do you mean by that. i don't know what to do on a daily basis.

with the teaching of. um and and then he you know and then he. he. he showed up as a as a burning bush or. the magic tricks and i don't know what. to do with. and jesus healed everyone that he and he. couldn't walk and now he touched him and. he can walk i don't know what to do with. that. i don't i don't know how to take that. into my life and go. oh there's something useful and. practical and healthy for you matthew. that you can practice there so the magic. um that leans in towards you know what. we would call now more fantasy i don't. know what to do with that i.

there's there's philosophies there's. proverbs and there's teachings. that i think are very valid and very. helpful um that we could all be reminded. of that are in the bible that i do find. quite useful. yeah i think it's almost impossible to. figure out what they were trying to say. with a lot of the things that's why it's. so it's open to interpretation but also. open to manipulation and that's where. people have a real problem with it when. it's used for. to to separate people to exclude people.

to marginalize people to judge people. but it's it's hard for people that. understand that. those aspects and that those things. happen to actually parse out. that there's good about it too and that. there's a lot of really valuable lessons. in these books 100 percent. um look i i get it i mean you. you know it's like a what are our what. are our fathers teach us. is your father still alive well i don't.

really know him. i have a complicated uh family history. okay. well fathers are father figures i have a. stepfather. he's still alive and i'm close to him. well step father when he goes you'll. find out some things where the messenger. and the message. weren't exactly in simpatico sure you. know what i mean. does that mean that you throw the. messenger out because you're like oh. [ __ ] you weren't following all that. stuff. no you take the message this is the. stuff that you can that. that could work for you that maybe they. wanted it for you they couldn't follow.

through. on it themselves there's certain parts. of the bible that have that too. you don't throw out the whole you can't. think it makes any sense to throw out. the whole book. it's what we're doing in society now i. mean we're we're. we're making people persona non grata uh. because of. something they they they do or you know. in in. and that is that is right now deemed. wrong or it's the hot point in a hot. topic right now. you can erase someone's entire existence. where the heck does some forgiveness go.

and again that like. optimism it's not erasing the crisis. it's not saying there wasn't a problem. first it's not saying that there's. virgin parts of the bible that have been. people have bastardized. and used in the wrong way um but you. don't throw the whole book out. and say well it's all it's all bad then. it's all used because. it's false have you. encountered difficulty expressing this. uh in hollywood you know hollywood is. uh predominantly left-wing and.

very secular or jewish in some circles. but. it's not like a place where christian. fundamental values. are espoused openly you know a lot a lot. of jewish folks are in hollywood and. that seems to be. okay with a lot of people but some other. religions. particularly if you're a fundamentalist. christian or if you have. christian values a lot of people frowned. upon that. why why why do you think that is and. have you had difficulties with that.

i don't know i haven't had difficulties. i have had and i won't throw any people. under the bus. but i have had um. moments where i was on stage receiving. an award in front of. my peers in hollywood. and there were people in the crowd that. i have prayed with before dinners. many times and when i thank god i saw. some of those people go to clap but then.

notice that. [Laughter]. bad thing on my resume and then sit back. on their hands oh. wow and i've seen. people read the room and go whoa that. wouldn't bode well for me in the future. if for getting a job or. you're getting votes or what have you um. i have seen that i've witnessed that. um i don't i don't judge him for it i. just wish you know that.

that it seems like a silly argument. there's. it's a you know one of the things that. our. art are people some people in our. industry. not all of them but this there's some. that go. to the left so far as uh. our friend jordan peterson who's back um. saw his video being back. that go to the irreliberal left side so. far. that is so condescending and patronizing. to 50 of the world.

that need the empathy that the liberals. have. gives and should give um. to to to to throw somebody's. illegitimize them because they say they. are a believer. it's just so arrogant uh and in some. ways hypocritical to me. um yeah so i haven't run into. you know i haven't headbutted trouble on.

that but i've always you look my my. career i've pretty much gone my own. my own path and. by hooker by crook just trying to figure. a way out into what i was doing and. i haven't i haven't measured or noticed. where it has harmed or gotten my way of. what i wanted to achieve. in in hollywood i think he slipped. through the net. he got further far enough down the river. where it's not going to be a problem. well kind of like when i you know like. my mom when i first got.

famous you know it's a great story in. the book um. right when i got famous i'm trying to. figure my own [ __ ] out right. and then uh next night i get a call my. buddy says hey you watching this i'm. like what you guys turn on hard copy. and there's my mom with a cameraman. taking a guy. through our house going this is where i. caught him in bed with melissa. [Laughter]. you know what i got him doing in there. oh don't worry about it it's no big deal. i've seen it a thousand times and i'm. going i call her up i'm like mom. what did you do she's like what i go. don't say what i can hear it.

and you're on the other than the line. you're watching it too it's hard copy. she's like oh. i didn't think you'd find out. [Laughter]. eight years where my mom and i's. relationship was strained i couldn't i. didn't have a mother to talk to. to share things with cause hell would. show up on a hard copy the next night. once my career got solidified enough you. know. well i i slipped through the net i was i. was stable enough i went in and let go. of the rain and said mom you go for it. you can take the mic anytime you can hit.

that red carpet wear your short leather. dress and talk whatever tell whatever. stories you want to. but again it took a while for me to feel. stable enough to slip through the net. and let her. go be herself as well this thing you're. talking about with uh. people disparaging people for their. opinions and their beliefs and their. the the way they're living their life i. think a lot of this is coming from. this condensed way of impersonal. communication that we're getting from. social media. i think it's this is so much of the way.

people are judging people. and the way people are communicating. with people. one on one is how human beings are. supposed to talk. that's how we're supposed to work things. out and when you look at a person's eyes. and you experience their their feelings. and you read their social cues. that's how we communicate and that's how. we work things out and hash things out. and and figure each other out and maybe. someone has a different set of beliefs. than you but. they happen to be your neighbor and you. like them and you're like hey man. tell me what's it like to be a sikh what.

what is it like to be a. muslim what is it what are your beliefs. as a a a quaker like what are you what. what's going on in your life tell me. i've i had a neighbor who was one of my. favorite neighbors i've ever had he was. a scientologist. and he was a weird dude man but he was. always friendly as hell. i would go outside we'd have weird. conversations about these things that he. was doing and. i just tried to figure him out and he'd. try to figure me out we you know we. always wave to each other we're always. friendly. i miss that guy but he uh he and i.

if we were talking online i'd be like. you know if if i was. a younger man and i was dumber and he. said something about his belief. and i thought that was stupid i'd. probably say what kind of dumb [ __ ] is. that. you believe that nonsense written by a. science fiction author but. talking to the guy that that was never. the way i talked to him. when he and i were looking at each other. we're just two neighbors. trying to figure each other out and just. trying to be friendly and have a. harmonious neighborhood.

well it's one of the one of the things i. i think you're going to like. uh about your new home the city. i think i mentioned this to you when i. when i when i called you to say welcome. you know one of the great things about. austin texas is even though it's. the the blueberry and tomato soup the. the the more liberal city in the. conservative state. you can see neighbors next door to each. other talking to each other and one has. a trump sign in the yard the other one. has a biden son in the yard. they're still having a conversation no.

one's going sneaking out in the middle. of the night to go rip that other. person's sign out. yeah um it's when austin is at its best. it ha. it has that you know i think that the. you know and i've got young children. they're starting to get we don't allow. them on social media yet. but you see these people you're living. in a time where. you put out something of yourself. and your whole value of yourself is. reliant on. what the world out there strangers you. don't know comment about that.

and if i put out a picture that i'm. really happy excited about on instagram. tonight. and if i'm going to look what the. reaction is and the majority says oh f. hugh mcconaughey this. all of a sudden i have a bad night i'm. having a bad time but if you go. the same picture and you go awesome and. this consensus awesome. all of a sudden you've controlled how i. feel and i'm having a great night i'm in. a great mood. so we're at the we're sort of at the. behest people of. we're reacting that's that's kind of. what we're doing more in this society.

we're reacting and you look at. you know things that things that go on. on issues right now it it. everyone's reacting to to to things. instead of it's. instead of creating the story or having. an opinion coming out of the gate. um and hey i understand it to some. extent because. people getting you get hired and fired. on those things these days. yeah you know iron fired about you. you're hired and fired or not hired. because you don't have as many.

people following your whatever it is um. that's a measure now of what we call. success. in this life you know or what's up at. the top in america. money and fame baby you got that. you've made it in america you are. successful we pat you on the back we. give you respect. i got nothing against money and fame i. got money and i'm famous. but that's not. where my value system lies or what i'm.

what is the most important to me and. what i'm trying to teach my kids. there's a way to get that and if you can. do it in a way to have your value system. let's just play let's praise that. um but it's tough because that's not. what the world right now especially. america rewards. people for yeah i think. there's a real issue with social media. in particular with children. in that we're just not designed for that. we're not designed for that kind of. communication. and it's so easy to dismiss someone. who's just.

text on a screen it's so easy to to. to shut people down and it's you see. people getting praised. because they're famous and because. they're wealthy i mean how much of what. social media is for a lot of young kids. is seeing famous people in front of. lamborghinis with a. million dollar watch on it's a bizarre. posing ritual that people are doing it's. very strange. funny story about that i'm in miami. southeast now mind you. i really like miami because it's so.

obvious. i mean in l.a people get like. a boob job or a lip job or a calf shop. and they try to say no it's all natural. in miami they go i just got my calf job. i just got a boob job hold up hold up. calf jobs. how many people are getting calf jobs no. guys. will go get a calf implant is that real. that's still happening. and in miami they're proud they're. showing you like. they're out there's no shame in that. there's no embarrassment i'm not getting.

that. all right i'm in miami making a film and. it was the beach bum. and i'm walking along the beach and. there's this guy. unbuttoned silk shirt got his gold. chains on he's all greased up and he's. leaning against his purple lamborghini. and he's got somebody taking pictures of. him and i'm just saying like what's. going on he's got the palm trees in the. back and the ocean so i asked him i said. what are you doing and he goes. oh man i'm getting this picture taken. from my tinder page man. just out there in the next 20 minutes. two other guys came by.

and i ask i go is that your lamborghini. because no no i just rented it for the. day. for my tender page pick two guys walk by. in the next 20 minutes and paid him 50. bucks. to lean against his purple rented. lamborghini to get their tinder. page picked oh my god. i wonder if it works it's kind of work. it's got to work on someone. any and he got his you know got his rent. paid for for his purple lamborghini.

yeah well miami you should have a. passport to go there it's uh. it's barely america it's a lot of fun. it's a great place. as a lovely city i love visiting there. but uh. i i don't think i could ever live there. i go to miami and i just go. you guys are [ __ ] out of control. it's the only place um before i was. doing my last netflix special. i was using these yonder bags and what a. yonder bag is. is you have to put your cell phone in. the bag when you go in there so you. can't film the show. or you can't talk on it and the idea is.

that the people won't be distracted. because their cell phone will be in this. magnetic pouch you have it you have. possession of your phone nobody's taking. your phone but when you want to leave. or use the phone like someone someone's. going to call you maybe you've got a. babysitter you can go outside they'll. open the pouch up and then you can use. your phone. okay most shows i did this i did shows. all over the country the show's people. were more attentive they sat down. they didn't get distracted by their. phone and they just listened in miami. all they did was get up and go outside.

so the whole show the [ __ ] show's. like an hour and 45 minutes. it's just people getting up and going. out and coming back and getting up and. coming back and getting up and coming. back. it was like people were constantly going. back and forth i don't know if they're. doing coke or if they're just. part but they were they the idea of how. not having their phone with them they're. like what what the [ __ ] i need my phone. they're so distracted so chaotic it was. a lot of fun though. i'm not even complaining where the. mannequins.

even the mannequins have fake boobs it's. true. it's true it is true if you go to a. department store the man. the mannequins have giant fake boobs. yeah because look the girls that. want to buy those clothes also have fake. boobs they don't want some weird. natural body like how am i gonna know. what it's gonna look like on me. and again i'm not [ __ ] not miami i love. it here i love it yeah rather but i. always said if you want to starve to. death. open up a bookstore in miami.

hey nobody buying books there nobody's. buying green lights they might get the. audiobook. and listen to it when they're on the. treadmill but it's it's a wild place. and and that show that i did the shows. that i did down there. they were fun i had a great time the. audiences were great they were. they laughed hard but they were just all. over the place. just up and down and back and up and. back and coming back and sitting down. excuse me pardon me. up more people i'm like you guys are out.

of [ __ ] control. yeah yeah it's it's a it's an obvious. place. have you ever seen the documentaries. cocaine cowboys yes. well that's all the whole cult like how. it all got started down there. well the craziness let's those cooking. cowboys one and two of my all-time. favorite documentaries. just miami's got a wild [ __ ] history. yep it does and stories like that. make great films though because there's.

some there's there's. real live stories about this country in. particular but this world in general. that you know like scarface or something. like that we're just like. this is kind of based on reality. you know it's one of the beautiful. things about a film. is that a film like scarface will make. you. look into that like well how much of. this is real did they really do that. oh yeah they really did send over. prisoners and release prisoners and send. them to america and they really did have.

hundreds and thousands of murders and. gun violence all over the streets and. cocaine everywhere and that's real that. was real. yeah and it was happening well that. that's you know the best. it's always said you know truth changer. stranger than fiction but yeah i mean. i i one of the one of the words i have a. page in the book about my least favorite. word in the english language being. unbelievable um no it's all pretty dog. unbelievable. and and you see it happening like yup.

wow i didn't think that was possible. well. damn sure was and it's usually stranger. than any hollywood script could make it. or more exciting yeah i say unbelievable. too often and it's sort of a placeholder. word for holy [ __ ]. right you know unbelievable but i it is. believable yeah for sure i mean you have. to be pretty odd. in this day and age to be unbelievable i. don't remember the last thing i saw that. was unbelievable. or whether it was like are you [ __ ].

kidding me um. i'm like you know boy there's one thing. you can depend on people being. its people yeah well so. in your life right now when you know. you've had this incredibly successful. career. and you i assume you're still writing. down these lists of things to do. when you when you look at like what you. would like to accomplish i mean you've. accomplished so much in the world of. acting and filmmaking. is there something out there that really. is. a a goal or a thought that's sticking in.

your mind or something you haven't done. yet. yeah um. one of the things i got to do that's at. the top of the list is do my best to. shepherd three young children through. this life so they can go off and be. independent and autonomous and hopefully. competent young individuals that's. that's priority number one. but personally um there's a. there's a role that i've created and. assumed for myself called the minister. of culture. um and it's about finding a shared.

competent value system and it's. something that. i'm gonna initialize it hopefully right. there in austin. um values as far as i can tell are the. the common denominator that they're. they've always been cool there's ones. that we can agree on they work. then they work now they will not go out. of style we're in such a time right now. where our social contracts are so broken. and they're broken with ourselves as. well we don't have expectations of each.

other or of ourselves it's kind of. anarchic a nation divided. and in austin in particular as a very. popular and fast growing city. um it's changing a lot and uh. you know if austin is a city it. starts to consume more than it creates. um starts to not be conscious with the. with its money. starts not to invest in itself if too. many people come to austin. from california where they come from and.

try to turn austin into why they left. where they were coming from. uh we're gonna look up in 10 years and. go what the hell happened man and. austin's got a lot of soul. got a lot of soul and i think it lies in. its values so this this. sort of campaign movement that i want to. push is reminding those of us from. austin why we love it there. austin's a place where nobody's too good. everybody's good enough um. and initiating and educating newcomers. and saying hey here's who we are who is. who we're not if you don't really want. to abide by who we are and what we.

believe in. make it a stop not a state keep on. moving um. but i i think austinites have earned. that and i think. newcomers uh will appreciate that um. i want to look up in 10 years and be in. austin be a city that's an example of a. place that became a metropolis that held. on to its soul. um that you know the things you look at. around town crime rate. employment etc are still at numbers that. are incredibly respectable. um but we don't get don't get loose it's.

a very creative town. you know and um like i said it's the. blueberry in the in the in the red state. but it's not an anarchic town it's not a. dirty town. it's not a sloppy town it's an. innovative town it's a creative town. and it's a young town um and you know i. think we all know. progress is not saying yes to every new. thing uh. progress is more about innovation but. it's also relying on tried and true. things that work have worked and will. continue to work.

and i just want to remind us all the the. certain values that we have. in this is tonight and as individuals. and. you know where that goes from there if. that goes outside of austin and through. the united states is it's a scalable. idea that i dream of that could go. outside of the united states it could go. worldwide in success. um i like looking at cities and people. looking at cities as individuals that. have personalities. and uh reminding the people so let's. sell let's sell a city. to the people that live in it sell.

austin to austinites and to people who. are coming to it. um that's that's that's my goal that's. what i'm into right now that's the. character that i'm inhabiting. right now in my life that's not on the. screen i'm one. i'm wanting to say hey the big show is. live life. the recorder is always on and. what's the story we're telling in life. that's that's that's the character i. want to play right now. in my life outside of my family uh. that's not on any kind of screen or any. kind of capsule that's gonna be on your. television screen it's just gonna if i.

pull it off it's gonna be something that. i'm just living. and doing and coming there's something. about this town that's very unique. and i i knew it for years i've been. coming here doing stand up since the 90s. but you know when the the pandemic hit. and i decided to move here well i did. have that feeling like. boy a lot of californians are gonna move. here. how do we not [ __ ] it up and you and i. had this very conversation like don't. turn this into the place you left.

so what specifically do you think. people need to not do to not do. yeah well you're coming to texas because. you got. no taxes you're coming to austin because. it's affluent it's happening you're. coming for the people the food the swing. it's happening it's a creative town it's. alive it's young. you got to pay a tithe ask. what austin can do for you ask what you. can do first. and personalize the place man i mean.

give your tithe. to the city um it is a place like i said. that nobody's too good and everybody's. good enough we don't run over people to. get where we're going. austin will open up their proverbial. roller decks and you tell me if you've. if you felt this with yourself quicker. than any city i've ever been to. as a newcomer oh yeah you want to go on. some contacts here yeah. i mean in some ways i'm like austin boyd. you know you maybe could take more. ownership of that. ip but it gives it away it's very free.

and we trust it's a very trusting town. and a town of second chances for people. but don't take advantage of that. freedom um understand that there's. responsibility to the freedoms that we. have. that there we do have to earn it uh. daily and don't just. over leverage ourselves and spend. because hey we're the most popular. person in. in school right now um don't get caught. looking in the mirror at ourselves. going oh aren't i great look at us we're. number one we're popular uh-uh. we uh we we still got boots on and we.

still pull them on and strap them on and. get and get and get work done. even though we're young and innovative. in tech town we're still. a a classic and you know it's. accountability it's responsibility it's. fairness. to other to other people it's. understanding where. is austin idyllic and what is it really. because in some ways i think of austin. i'm finding out. it's not as ideal as i think it is in my. in my mind so i've got well i've got a. listening tour and i talk about the. diversity in austin.

and it is a international destination. now talk about the. you know the the the equality of austin. you know the rule in austin has always. been all you got to do is be yourself. that's kind of the rule that's what's. cool about austin not what you think you. ought to be but just be yourself. it doesn't matter if you're blue-haired. short lesbian. american indian cowboy sheriff whatever. everyone's sitting at the same bar. having a drink and no one's yelling. about their place because if you.

you're yelling about hey i want to let. you know how i'm different in austin. austin's like going. what were you yelling about we didn't. really care that's one of the great. things about austin at. best it celebrates differences when. austin is at its best austin's not. trying to homogenize people to say hey. we're all the same. no we're not we're all very different. and that's cool. but we do have some social contracts. amongst us we're a clean place we don't. like cheating steel to get where we're. going um. we look ahead but we appreciate. tradition at the same time.

we take care as much as we can of of our. our natural. beauties around here at the same time. we're metropolis we're growing up. now how can we grow up and wide and. still grow deep. that's what i want to lean into is what. are the roots so we're not just. again looking up in 10 years and going. who do we become. where did all these socialites come from. you know. yeah um one thing that's plaguing los. angeles. that i'm starting to see here is uh.

the homelessness intent form. all over the city los angeles is. out of control i mean it's bizarre that. it hasn't been handled. i mean i was just having a conversation. with my friend brian about it before the. show. and he was telling me that in burbank. they just shut that down they won't let. it happen. you can't just put up a tent somewhere i. mean. i'm an empathetic person and i think. that. you know all the people that are out.

there that are homeless that are down on. their luck for whatever reason whether. it's. they've been abused or they're. alcoholics or drug addicts or whatever. it is. they're all our brothers and sisters and. i'm not a social engineer. i don't know what the solution is to. something like that but i know that it. gets out of hand. it's gotten out of if you go to venice. my friend bridget sent me a video. of her driving down venice and it's a. mile of tents i mean a straight mile she. got the phone out the window. and it's just tense everywhere.

like it's it's crazy how does someone's. how do you put a stop to that without. being an [ __ ]. how do you how do you maintain empathy. and say hey you can't put a [ __ ] tent. up on the sidewalk. a great question and i don't know the. answer um you said it earlier look a lot. of these most of these people have a. mental challenge or they've gotten drugs. and so. you know in austin we're you know. putting something. up in some some vacated hotels um.

i don't know to what extent that's. that's working um. you know i've got friends who have. businesses downtown. who who they've got homeless people. camping out in front. and if someone walks in they're they're. getting berated by this. person that's homeless that has this uh. uh mental. uh something mentally askew and they're. not in their nugget. i i don't i don't know um you can't. eliminate the problem but how do you re. you know this question of how do we. rehabilitate is an ongoing question not.

just with homeless people. you know it's it's it's it's you know. with people that aren't. that that don't have uh mental problems. it's we have the question of of. rehabilitation i mean. and for those people i'm like well you. have to be sincerely seeking retribution. and and understand what you did wrong to. get the chance to be. forgiven and be and rehabilitate and get. a second chance. for the homeless people i think you know.

i mean i think if you're going to go to. the. how do we how do we get them more. mentally stable or in and can we to what. extent. get them mental help um. and not just keep picking them up and. saying let's move them to this side of. the curb. and then well that curve got full let's. move them to this side of the curb. um and then you end up with a you know a. shanty town or something. um it's you know i think they're always. going to be to some extent. you know um there's going to be homeless. there's always going to be some.

socioeconomic imbalance. i don't think we're ever going to that's. another thing that i think we have to. as a people especially on the left have. to realize. this whole perfect equality amongst all. of us and perfect justice i don't think. that's. a possible destination for anybody. i think it's great to keep america is. there's a constant chase to chasing a. jet. yes it's it's we never will get there. and that's the point just keep chasing.

it try to have a little. ascension in our in our journey going. forward and a little bit of evolution. but we're never gonna arrive at this. utopian state where. ta-da we did it it's it's it's it's the. garden of eden before. an apple was eaten you know it's not. going to happen i don't believe. um so i don't know i question how. how the best way to rehabilitate. situations and like the homeless one uh. um. all the time and i don't i don't know. the answer i do if we can get them some.

mental help. and then give somebody you know not just. if we can make jails not just a holding. cell. i mean think about it if jails really. worked once you've done your time. you ought to be even money right yeah. yeah you should be better. you're not even money you're coming out. with the scarlet scarlet letter on you. and you're gonna have to work five times. harder than the next guy to get that job. um you know if you're an offender of. such you're going to be found and. located and they're going to share your. location through.

through the city and you're going to. find out um from your neighbor that. you're moving in. and you can understand the people going. i don't want that somebody's living next. door to me. right well if rehabilitation worked it. would be like well no it's okay because. they did their stint. it doesn't really work like that so it's. a constant uh. uh question i have about about how. what's the best way to rehabilitate. yeah no one seems to have an answer i. mean it's uh everyone throws their hands. up in the air. and just keeps on moving just what do. you. i don't know you know one of the things.

you were talking about before. jordan peterson talks about that. equality of. outcome is a terrible idea equality of. opportunity. is a fantastic idea the opportunity to. succeed. but the problem with equality of outcome. is there's not equality of effort. and it's one of the beautiful things. about society. is that you and this is what we're. talking about before about. reading your memoir and reading an. autobiography of a successful person is. realizing. that there's work to be done there's.

things you have to do in order to. to be this person that that people to. admire and it doesn't come easy. and some people aren't going to do that. work and if they're not going to do that. work they're not going to achieve that. outcome. and that's just life and you know and. the equality of opportunity. you know that's not even real because. different people start off at different. blocks in life they start off in. different spots. they start off with different challenges. and and different. physical attributes and and and physical. problems everyone has their own hand of.

cards that you're dealt. yeah but treating people equally and. giving people the best possible chance. that we can as a community and as a. culture. that's what we all strive for and the. problem with. the homeless situation and the problem. with prisons it's a similar problem is. that the downtrodden the people that. have hit a bad spot in the game of life. like what is our responsibility to them. and if we are a community like there's.

only three of us and one of us is [ __ ]. up. we go hey let's help mike you know he's. he's [ __ ] up let's let's tr. try to bring mike into the fold and and. give him. some life lessons and and give him some. love and hope that we can. bring him back up to a point where a. couple years from now we're looking back. on this going hey. look you used to be over there and now. you're here and everything's great. that's what we'd ultimately love but. there's almost. too many challenges and too many people. and and everybody has their own problems. so people throw their arms up their arms.

up in the air and they keep moving and. these things don't seem to get better. the prison population seems to increase. homeless population especially during. this pandemic has increased. i don't have answers you know i really. don't so it's i'm spinning my wheels as. much as the next guy. yeah yeah it's uh. you know it's a question that's yet to. be answered on many levels. um before this time after the after this. time. you know that equal opportunity that's. that would be the gig that would be.

there because then then you could. measure. because we are all born with different. innate abilities. and if we're fortunate enough to be in a. position we go well. i'm going to do what i'm good at and i'm. going to work my backside off for it. um and i'm going to get educated about. i'm willing to put in the work. america is a place that that's the. american dream you could that's what. they mean by the land of opportunity if. you. you should have the chance to pursue. what you want to do and if you're. willing to work for it and get educated. on it. you have an opportunity to make a life.

i understand there's not complete equal. opportunity across the board i. understand that i. personally was born uh with different. innate abilities. than you or someone else i was also born. with more opportunity more opportunities. than a lot of people. i was born into a two-parent family um. that's one of our biggest diseases i. think. that we have in the states is that the. the the the family unit breaks up. sometimes too quickly uh too easily you. know mom or dad.

jets uh if the going gets tough too. quickly um. so you know i i you know i was some. would say symmetrically speaking i'm a. good-looking guy so that's got me in. doors. that maybe it wouldn't have got other. people into tried to do my best once i. got in the door i'm not going to. apologize for any opportunities i've had. but i do understand that i've had. opportunities. that other people have not had i've. created many on my own. but i've also been introduced and met. people who opened those doors for me. that would not have been open for other.

people um. yeah what do we what do we do with them. i think there's a place. and this is what i'm striving to get to. and understand more and more. none of us do a damn thing about. anything unless it's personal. intellectually we talk about it. it makes sense but we really don't take. action until it's trespassing on our. walls and it's gonna affect. me or you or my family that's when we. go okay i'm gonna take action so i think. whatever we do has got to be personal. um the the the the choice that i'm.

making for my own. selfish choice for me there's a place. where. there's a choice where that also is. what's best for the most amount of. people. where the personal choice is also the. best choice for the most amount of. people. i call it the egotistical utilitarian. that's where the eye meets the we. um that's that's where where what we. want is what we need. and what we need is actually what we. want or what's best for us. is best for the most amount of people. where what where were the most.

we're actually the most selfish or we're. the most selfish we're actually the most. selfless. that's the place where when i talk about. like green lights. there's a place to create green lights. that are best for ourselves. and others at the same time that's the. honey hole i don't know exactly. what that place is all the time but. that's the place i think we could all be. a little more conscious. of of how we go about moving forward and. making choices based on that. austin seems to be of a manageable size.

as i was trying to describe this to one. of my friends in l.a he's like what's so. great about austin i was like first of. all. people aren't devalued because there's. not too many of them. there's a problem with when there's too. many people. then people become a nuisance there's. too many of them. austin doesn't have that problem so when. i look at like the homelessness problem. in austin like you know what this is not. out of control yet. this seems like you could still fix that. like someone's. got to realize that this could get out.

of hand. and this is a thing that you can kind of. you it's it's. within the boundaries of resources. to step in and manage this and. now yes before it gets out yeah we look. up in 10 years ago [ __ ] it's too late. it's out of control. like that yes yeah to just grow and. and turn our backs on that not look at. it and now all of a sudden it's out of. hand and i don't know what to do with it. it happens quick. it happens quick venice two years ago. was not this there was a few tents. every you know here and there you'd see.

tents now it's. [ __ ] bonkers and i would i i mean. obviously you're dealing with a much. larger population. in california but this this place is. special. i mean it really is there's there's it's. it's it's a. great size and the people here are. really exceptional it's it does have a. personality. it has a very unique like a mixture of. cowboys and hippies it's a weird spot. you know and it's that melting blending.

of all these different types of people. here. has made it very tolerant and very. unique and the fact that there's. university here and there's a lot of. artistic people and musical people and. creative people. it's a real it's a real good spot and. i'm happy to be here but i don't want to. [ __ ] it up. i hear you well there's a lot of you. know there's there is a community. in austin and austin at its best does. come together. and realize that it has an identity to. move forward with to protect. um and you're right it's not so big and.

i believe that it can grow. and but it can grow while still having a. sense of itself and its own identity in. it to protect that identity and grow. forward. turn the page progress yes it's coming. but also preserve the core. dna of who we are we're no longer the. little hippie town that. just had some music in the capital and a. university. no we're dot com tech town we're banker. town lawyer town international. destination. all those things that's fine but in that.

there's a. there's a you know austin has i want to. help define. by listening to a lot of austinites as. well what our constitution is in austin. that's separate. from anywhere else so this is something. you're you're actively. trying to do you said a minister of. culture is this something you you have a. thought in your head of how to. how to do this yes i have. a shared values campaign that i've put. together. um and i want to.

sort of advertise and sell austin to. austin all around austin. and it's just sort of sort of uh. value-based aspirational messages just. to remind us. who we are to to keep the community as. tight as possible. to form expectations and solidify. expectations amongst ourselves. um so if someone acts outside of those. they're noticed. and they're kind of nudged back it's. another thing austin does very well. austin austin i don't know how it is now. um. since we've had like uh the the protests.

with black lives matter and stuff. but austin used to be um. there was a great relationship. with the police force not just with me. with seeing matthew mcconaughey walk. down the street. with john and jane doe you. gonna crawl you know you went jay. walking across sixth street they caught. you before and like nudged you over and. said hey don't do it before they gave. you the ticket there was a. there was a play of like they were part. of the community they could they felt. like you know. you give them a wave you didn't see a.

cop in austin go oh [ __ ]. you you saw when you waved and if you. they weren't looking. uh you never felt like they were looking. to get you um. crime was low you know so we'll see how. that relationship has to be worked on in. the city of austin. um right now you know quite a bit. yeah what were your thoughts when the. the whole. idea to defund the police came to. fruition. well let's break that down one defund. the police that moniker. if you if you wanted to to say.

it's almost like it should have been. renamed because defunding police does. not sound anything like there's been. money reallocated to different. areas of handling some police exercise. it sounds like. you got a million we're taking 300 000. good luck yeah. um and that's not exactly what it is to. be fair um. i. the community and the police and not. just in austin but all over. and i think they are doing this in miami.

to bring up miami. need to get back together and the. community needs to say here's what's. unfair. here's how here's how i feel unfair as a. black man or a person of color or or. whatever whatever situation. here's here's here's my problem. with my relationship with you as cops. well the police got to get clear to go. okay our whole force isn't screwed up we. have to have law and order do we all. agree on that. yes we can all agree on that we got a. few bad apples that either need to be.

trained better. um so we don't have those kind of bad. apples or people or cops. choking under under under on not and i. mean the word. as in fumbling at the goal line i don't. mean literally joking i mean that. that don't follow through on on on their. duty in the right way. when they're under that when they're. under the gun under the heat of the. moment that's what i mean. there are cops that have done that so a. few of these bad apples. need to be removed but they also we need. to make sure we're training them. better now also the cops need to go to. the community and go can y'all remember.

and understand our point of view that. we're like the tow truck driver. we're not called when there's good news. we're called when it's bad news so we're. coming in. going looking for trouble all right so. we're already under stress if we even. get a call so can y'all help. us in our way that we communicate can. we get trust again that if a cop says. hey. stand still take your hands out of. pocket hold him up yep i'm doing that.

that we're not going to be something's. not going to happen. to us uh um that shouldn't that there. will be a. a you know cause obviously the. situation's like that you're not being. called you're not in that situation when. it's good news. you know so everyone's already tensions. are high but. that's uh you know as far as the fun. we're gonna see. my we're gonna see if this reallocation. of money like in austin and other places. how that works i mean my first gut. instinct was. i don't see how that repairs the.

relationship. between the community and the police. force i don't see how that's that's. coming together. it it it's i don't see how that's gonna. rehabilitate that relationship. um and now you have spite on on on both. sides. um again we're going to see i don't know. if we really had a bird in hand when we. made the change. do we have we practiced these other have. we seen these other forms where the. reallocated money goes to for 911 calls. and stuff we've seen these other forms.

work have we seen them be improvements. i don't know um so hopefully. we'll see if this is just sort of guinea. pig in the idea we'll see how it works. but. um i i'm i'm more for saying okay. instead of taking away your money and. your funds which you could use to. train better and uh work on the. relationship of what your what your job. is and what you expect. and what communities expect from you i'd. rather have done that than. pull money from them so we're going to.

see how this experiment goes. yeah i couldn't agree more i think they. need training they need more training. and more understanding and i think we. all need to understand that there's. a tremendous amount of these people that. are under insane stress. every day and they probably have massive. ptsd. and you know if you're every time you're. pulling somebody over you're worried. about getting shot. every time you're visiting someone's. apartment for a domestic abuse case. you're worried you're going to get. killed you're going to see someone.

killed you've seen murders and deaths. and. the human mind is not designed to deal. with that kind of stress. day in and day out and a lot of these. people are. you know when you see these horrible. reactions. that cops have to situations where they. do completely overstep. their boundaries and and abused people. yeah i think a lot of those people are. really [ __ ] up by the time they get to. that point. and i don't yeah a lot of people were. [ __ ] up before.

that's right or they got where before. they even became a cop or they became a. cop for the right reason. uh they had pro personal problems. and we need to filter those people out. and that also comes through training the. same kind of training that they filter. people out through the military. you know when you want to be a navy seal. you got to go through buds. and good luck if you have a lot of. character flaws. you're not going to make it you they. will be exposed and i think that. counseling and and training and then.

communication with the community is what. we need we don't need to defund them it. seems like a popular social sentiment. that people are are repeating because it. puts you. in this ideology of a person who cares. and is progressive. but i don't think it's ever been fleshed. out i don't think people have thought it. out in the long term. and if you're looking at the. consequences of how this is playing out. in new york city. homicides are up by hundreds of percent. burglaries armed robberies everything's. up. it's not good the the defunding of the. police has been.

horrible for new york city the the. consequences have been the exact. opposite would everybody hoped they'd be. right and i'm worried about that here as. well but governor abbott has stepped in. and said he's going to put a stop to. that which is uh you know there's. talk about not giving the the the towns. that do this. they're not going to have access to. property taxes and this is. you know obviously there's no income tax. in austin in in in. in the state of texas so the governor. supposedly stepped in. and going to iron this out so i'm hoping.

it. works out and cooler heads will prevail. me too i'm with you. training and have more reverence for the. job and understand. they're called in when they're not. called in when it's good news you know. my my brother. rooster has a real good interesting take. i think. on like you know gun control um and. texas is a big. uh right to carry state and a gun a gun. state um. but he brought up the samurai sword how. there was a reverence.

for it and i remember how we were. brought up you you you got your toy gun. and then you got your daisy. one pump and until you had mastered that. like not turning and ever. if you turned and even though it wasn't. cocked if it was aimed at someone nope. you got the gun taken away from you. you know what i mean but you had to. master the daisy gun first. and then after years of that you moved. up to the 22. and you had to master that and you had. to make sure it was always unloaded and. put back in the case you've got a. reverence for this tool there's a. long sort of initiation reverence before.

you could move up. to a larger gun yeah we've lost a. reverence. for that tool and the samurai sword is a. good example. because there's a reverence for that you. there's an initiation period to get to. where you could have that. right and and i think that'd be you know. that's kind of one of the places where i. lie with the uh that it's too. easy uh to get to get a gun. sometimes that there that there should. be that background check which goes back. into when we're talking about with. police force background check training.

have a reverence for the job. understand the expectations understand. it's a high-stress job. can you handle it let's learn how to. handle it. because they have to call audibles in. the moment that our life. audibles yeah and as we said get rid of. the ones who can't. because it is a hard job and hard jobs. are not for everybody. and i think that and that's that. punishes. the good cops when someone does a.

horrible thing like the george floyd. case. all those good cops who would never. think about doing that. ever in their life ever are lumped into. the same category as that guy and i. think that's awful. yep i agree yeah um. listen man i enjoy talking to you this. is great i really do and i. wish you luck with your book and i've. loved your movies and uh i wish you. nothing but success and. and uh let's get together and break. bread someday i look forward to it. joe thanks man enjoy talking to you and.

i look forward to doing in person let's. do it brother. thank you thank you good luck with the. book goodbye. [Music]. you.