Matthew McConaughey made headlines last year when he was papped with a painfully thin physique – but rather than suffering from some form of eating disorder, his weight loss was because of his art.
At his thinnest, McConaughey slimmed down to 9 and a half stone to play the role of HIV-positive Ron Woodrof in Dallas Buyers’ Club.
Speaking to the Radio Times in this week’s issue, he reveals that it wasn’t just the hunger that was an issue when he had to change his diet (he ate Diet Coke, egg whites and one piece of chicken a day), but his whole lifestyle.
“I had to relearn how to entertain myself, because I wasn’t going outside, I wasn’t going to dinner, I wasn’t going to social places,” he says. “I was writing so much more, reading so much more. It ended up being this really fun adventure, internally.”
He says that physically losing weight wasn’t actually that difficult; it’s the mental aspect of it that is most challenging. “You have to reprogramme all of your habits, and the days get so long. You think it must be lunchtime already, and it’s only 9.30 in the morning,” he tells Radio Times. “I kept a diary of my nutrition the whole way through, and it is something I will probably share at some point because it was quite the adventure.”
The actor is set to star in a brand new crime drama series named True Detective with Woody Harrelson. He plays a cop with a troubled background named Rust Cohle. Speaking about the character, he says: “I wouldn’t wish anyone else to be in his head. He’s a real island unto himself. I loved this guy’s mind. I fell in love with the words coming out of his mouth.”
Subscribe and save on a Radio Times magazine subscription today.
Posted by Hannah Wood.
