Matthew McConaughey reveals he fled Hollywood fame and lived as ‘Mateo’ for 22 days in Peru

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Matthew McConaughey prefers to stay grounded and occasionally steps away from Hollywood when fame starts to feel overwhelming. Early in his career, the 'Interstellar' actor said he left Hollywood for a short time and went to Peru. He wanted a break from the spotlight.

He stayed there for about 22 days and lived a very simple life. He also spent time with local people who did not know he was a movie star. He said the experience helped him feel like himself again. "It reaffirmed my own identity that, 'Oh, I got it. This is based on me.'"

Matthew McConaughey reflects on his time away from Hollywood

He shared the story on the 'No Magic Pill with Blake Mycoskie' podcast on May 5. "I needed to get my feet on the ground," said the 'Interstellar' actor. "So I click out. Boom. Go to Peru. I needed to find it to check the validation. I knew I had it, I just had to go prove it again."

He also talked about how confusing fame felt at that point in his life. "I’ve got all this adulation for this and that and the other, and I’m trying to decipher which part’s real," the 56-year-old added. "When you get famous, what happens is there’s a few salutations that are skipped, and people stop asking your name or what you do."

So he took a 22-day reset in Peru, living without electricity and spending time with locals who didn’t know he was a movie star. "I needed to meet people who knew me as Mateo. That was it," the 'Dallas Buyers Club' actor explained.

"And at the end of 22 days, the tears in their eyes and the tears in my eyes and the hugs we had on the sadness and happiness of saying goodbye were all based off of the man they met named Mateo, who had nothing to do with the celebrity and the experience and times we had together for 22 days."

Matthew McConaughey gets real about the confusing side of fame

McConaughey has been pretty open about stepping back from Hollywood when things started feeling too loud or too limiting. Talking about his Peru trip, he said it helped him slow down and reconnect with himself.

“I was now at the place long enough to go, ‘I could live this. This could be my existence,’” he continued. “As soon as you go, ‘I could do this,’ then you’re like, ‘Well, I can return home.’” He lived very simply there, no electricity, just day-to-day life, and people knew him only as “Mateo,” not a movie star.

He also admitted fame started to feel blurry and confusing. “I’ve got all this adulation for this and that and the other, and I’m trying to decipher which part’s real,” he said. Years later, after becoming a rom-com star with films like 'The Wedding Planner' and 'How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days', he felt boxed in and decided to switch things up, according to Variety.