Matthew McConaughey’s ‘Yellowstone’ Role Contains All the Elements of a Character That He’s Been Looking For

Matthew McConaughey is getting back into acting after a three-year-long break. But it gets better — he’s going to star in a new Yellowstone spin-off. Speaking with Dax Shepard on Armchair Expert, the Dallas Buyer’s Club actor dished on what we can expect from his forthcoming role.

Matthew McConaughey Has Been Focusing on “Playing Himself” During His 3-Year Acting Hiatus

McConaughey and Shepard were speaking about the importance of personal growth and self-awareness, and how sometimes that means stepping away from the spotlight for a while. Actors are constantly needing to put themselves in other people’s shoes, but that can be exhausting after a while. They were reminiscing on the idea of “playing yourself” in the movie that is life, and what this meant for McConaughey with his new part in Yellowstone.

“I’ll be a different or improved actor in my own right after these last three years,” said McConaughey. “I deliberately chose to go focus on some things I was talking about [i.e., personal growth] and I have different perspectives.”

McConaughey Says He Has More to Offer as an Actor After His Break

Asked if he’d go about acting with a different process, McConaughey tipped his hat.

“What I have is so much respect for the vocation of acting. I think I have a healthier relationship. I’m not looking at it for my survival and my thrival. I think good acting emulates life. Real life is where this stuff comes from. I think I’ve experienced some real good life in these last few years. In ways that I hadn’t in a while. I’ve been more introverted, to write a book is introversion. The three years of COVID sort of was a forced monasticism on everybody in some version.”

During the past 3-year hiatus from acting, which still involved McConaughey doing some voice acting but mostly not appearing on screens big or small, he wrote his first children’s book. He shares three children (10, 13, and 14) with wife Camila Alves, and fatherhood was the impetus for his writing. The actor has also been promoting and supporting the Texas Longhorns basketball team, serving as University of Texas’ Minister of Culture. He’s a consistent volunteer at his local community events and has also spoken out about healing from serious childhood trauma. In short, McConaughey has been busy — just not with acting.

McConaughey’s Yellowstone Role Contains All the Elements of a Character That He’s Been Looking For

All that time in seclusion gave Matthew McConaughey the chance to contemplate what he was looking for in a role. He said he’s kept a journal by his side at all times to keep track of the things he desires for his future. In a way, it’s like he manifested for himself the Yellowstone role that he’s stepping into. It just took a few years.

“Playing a role that really turns me on? In a sort of structured [way]? That’s what’s been so tough about the last few years for everybody. We’ve all been in limbo,” McConaughey said. “To go have some structure like… I gotta call time. I got lines, I got scenes, I got a character. And I know if I lay this down day-to-day, hopefully I can put together a performance. And I hope that it will be something that will be its own external piece of art with me as a character. That sounds like a vacation right now.”

New Yellowstone Spin-Off May or May Not Replace the Original Show

The Hollywood Reporter confirmed in February that Matthew McConaughey was in talks with Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan. The news came out amid a scheduling disagreement between Sheridan and Kevin Costner and word that Costner’s wife was demanding he quit the show. The drama has left fans uncertain if Costner might leave the Yellowstone universe altogether.

However, a spokesperson for Paramount Network told Deadline that there haven’t been any big shake-ups — at least there weren’t as of early February.

“We have no news to report. Kevin Costner is a big part of Yellowstone and we hope that’s the case for a long time to come,” said the spokesperson. “Thanks to the brilliant mind of Taylor Sheridan, we are always working on franchise expansions of this incredible world he has built. Matthew McConaughey is a phenomenal talent with whom we’d love to partner.”

But Deadline also reported that other sources had implied that Yellowstone was going to be replaced by a spin-off. Insiders told the outlet that Paramount had “declined Costner’s most recent proposal and instead has made the decision to move on to the other show.”

That spin-off, it seems, will star Matthew McConaughey. Kevin Costner is an irreplaceable talent, but I think most can agree McConaughey is, too. If they’re going to have a hunky and phenomenal actor star in their newest project, he’s one of the best.

Yellowstone’s second half of season 5 is set to premiere sometime this summer. As of now, signs are pointing to there being no season 6. Stay tuned.

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