Andy Warhol’s Interview Interview: Matthew McConaughey

ABOVE: PHOTO COURTESY OF BAUER GRIFFIN.

With the awards-season furor surrounding his performance in Dallas Buyers Club, a new HBO series, True Detective, and the McConaissance in full bloom, the actor answers some Andy questions. All right, all right, all right . . .

ANDY WARHOL: What did you have for breakfast?

MATTHEW McCONAUGHEY: A tuna fish sandwich on toasted bread.

WARHOL: Do you dream?

McCONAUGHEY: Yes, and in color. Mostly intergalactic espionage.

WARHOL: Do you keep a diary?

McCONAUGHEY: Yes, one for each film and foreign land I travel to.

WARHOL: How were you discovered?

McCONAUGHEY: In a bar.

WARHOL: What was your first job?

McCONAUGHEY: Raking 77 sand traps on a golf course before 8 a.m.

WARHOL: Who was the nicest person you worked for?

McCONAUGHEY: Ron Howard. He’s just an inherently generous, patient, and nice man.

WARHOL: What’s the craziest thing a fan has sent you?

McCONAUGHEY: Her bathtub.

WARHOL: Have you had any nutty fans who scared you?

McCONAUGHEY: Yeah, had a fan who had a fictional relationship with me. She wrote letters to me and then wrote return letters to herself (from me). In her mind, we were married and had two children. Her parents finally uncovered this delusional life she was living and she got help.

WARHOL: Are you a good cook?

McCONAUGHEY: Yes. My favorite dish is cleaning out the fridge on Sunday night and improvising a great medley.

WARHOL: Is there anything you regret not doing?

McCONAUGHEY: In the summer of 1985, I told a lady in Navarre Beach, Florida, that I wanted to lifeguard on her beach the next summer. She had never hired a non-local and said she would reserve a spot for me if I promised I’d be there by June 1 the next year. I said I would. As that next summer approached, I found myself doing other things and questioning whether I would go back to Florida to be a lifeguard as I gave my word that I would. As May bled into June, I kept procrastinating and talked myself into thinking, “She probably forgot,” and “It won’t be a big deal if I don’t show,” and I never went. I’ve always regretted not letting her know that I wouldn’t be coming that summer. In my mind, I know she was expecting me. I “left crumbs” with that decision, meaning, I made a decision that made me look over my shoulder because I mislead someone. I regret that.

WARHOL: When do you get nervous?

McCONAUGHEY: When I’m unprepared for something that I could have prepared for … And being late.

WARHOL: What are you reading right now?

McCONAUGHEY: Born to Run by Christopher McDougall and The Essays of Ralph Waldo Emerson.