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“JUST BECAUSE,” SAYS MATTHEW MCCONAUGHEY ABOUT HIS NEW CHILDREN’S BOOK

By NEO Magazine on October 27, 2023

We’d like to thank Markos Papadatos for getting this exclusive with Matthew McConaughey and making this a special Greek-American anniversary for us: our 18^th anniversary as a magazine not just for Greeks, but as an American magazine that shines the spotlight both on America and the fascinating and colorful world of the Greek-American communities throughout the United States. They are a vital part of the American fabric, but each has its own unique brio and history. Let’s keep this going and we’ll celebrate with you again after the next eighteen years…Dimitri Michalakis.

“JUST BECAUSE,” SAYS MATTHEW MCCONAUGHEY ABOUT HIS NEW CHILDREN’S BOOK

by Markos Papadatos

(Academy-Award winner Matthew McConaughey chatted with Markos Papadatos about his new children’s book, “Just Because,” which was released on September 12 by Penguin Random House and illustrated by Renée Kurilla.)

PHOTO: LEVI McCONAUGHEY

In our talk, Matthew McConaughey opened up about his inspiration to write this picture book, the lessons he learned from it, as well as his daily motivations. He also discussed being a part of the digital age, and he furnished his definition of success from American author, speaker, and leader John C. Maxwell: “Dreams don’t work unless you do.”

This quote applies to McConaughey, as well, who is an Oscar–winning actor (Best Actor in a Leading Role for Dallas Buyers Club), and The New York Times-bestselling author of his memoir Greenlights.

He and his wife, Camila, founded the Just Keep Livin Foundation, which is dedicated to empowering high school students by providing them with the tools to lead active lifestyles, in an effort to make healthy choices for a better future. He is

a professor of practice and a Minister of Culture for the University of Texas at Austin, where he lives with Camila and their three children (Levi, Vida and Livingston). He is a storyteller, a tree-house builder, and a pickle expert. In 2005, People Magazine named him as the “Sexiest Man Alive.”

Why did he write Just Because?

“I woke up one night at 2:30 a.m. from a dream of a song, a little Bob Dylan-type ditty in my head. I started to write the rhymes down and went back to bed around 6:30 a.m. with about 100 couplets. When I woke up the next day, and read them back, I still dug them. That is how the book was born.”

He says the “process for writing Just Because was different than Greenlights in that I didn’t go off to write. This one just came to me. It was a lot of fun.” And he learned that “reading the couplets back and reading them with my kids was a pretty eye-opening experience. More than teach me, it just reminds me to embrace life’s contradictions rather than fighting them.”

As for his daily motivations as an actor, author, and storyteller, he says, “I love the craft and the rhythm of everyday life and living. Learning from others, taking in new things, and my kids… they also inspire and teach me daily.”

PHOTO BY VIDA ALVES McCONAUGHEY

Being an actor and author in the digital age, now with streaming, technology, and social media being so prevalent, McConaughey says, “I love being an actor and author in any age. It’s all coming, innovation, and AI so we need to learn how to embrace it and use it responsibly. It is not in place of work and values, it’s an enhancement that we all know is inevitable.”

His advice for young and aspiring actors and authors is, “Don’t be afraid to take risks and to challenge yourself. Also, always prepare… never think your best work will come when you just wing it.” He shares his favorite motto to live by: “’Just keep livin’ is one I started to use when my father moved on. I still use it today!” And his definition of success: “Success means still being able to chase your better self.”

PHOTO: JOHN RUSSO

Of Just Because, he says it’s, “a children’s book meant for the kid in all of us. It embraces life’s contradictions and reminds us that it’s okay to feel two conflicting things at once. I hope that it sparks dialogue between parents and kids.”

American track and field legend Steve Prefontaine once said: “To give anything less than your best, is to sacrifice the gift.”

Matthew McConaughey embodies this inspirational quote. He is a versatile author, humanitarian, and actor, whose acting work is transcendent in film and TV; moreover, his writing work is bound to resonate with readers of all ages.