Matthew McConaughey Says a Fortune Teller Convinced Him to Accept ‘How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days’ Role
Kate Hudson also played a pivotal role in getting Matthew McConaughey signed onto the project.
Fans have two people to thank for Matthew McConaughey’s involvement in How to Lose a Day in 10 Days: Kate Hudson and a random fortune teller. While honoring the rom-com’s 20th anniversary in a roundtable discussion with Vanity Fair, McConaughey revealed he wasn’t completely sold on the role of Benjamin Barry, but a run-in with a fortune teller led him to reevaluate.
“I remember considering whether I was going to do it or not one night while on a walk down Sunset Boulevard when suddenly, this guy comes up out of nowhere to me — he was a fortune teller guru,” the actor recalled to his fellow cast and crew members.
“[He] goes, ‘Can I tell you your fortune real quick?’ I was like, ‘Yeah, man. Sure,’” McConaughey continued the story. “He immediately goes, “There’s a movie you’re considering right now. It’s a romantic comedy. You have to do this or it will be one of the biggest regrets of your life. It is going to be a blast, it is going to be an incredible experience and it is going to make a bunch of money.”
At first, McConaughey was doubtful. He even thought Paramount Studios put the fortune teller up to it.“I remember thinking, Did the studio hire this guy?” he laughed.
However, the fortune stuck with him, and McConaughey began reconsidering the role and film with a more serious lens. He was so convinced, he signed onto the script no less than 24 hours later. “I think I even accepted the offer the next day,” McConaughey added.
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Elsewhere in the interview, Hudson, who had a hand in the casting her Benny Boo-Boo, said McConaughey was the perfect guy for Andie Anderson.
“We were looking at guys and kept going back and forth about who would be the right guy. The guy for me was really important,” she explained.
When McConaughey came to audition, it was pencils down for the actress. She was sold. “Matthew came up in a meeting and I thought that was a great idea. I loved his energy. We immediately just got along,” Hudson recalled.
How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days turns 20 this month! Fans can stream the iconic rom-com on Paramount+.
