He said, "never is a man more of a man than when he is the father of a newborn."
Oscar-winning actor Matthew McConaughey, 53, is not dazed or confused about fatherhood. The star married Camila Alves in 2012 and has three kids with her, Levi, Vida, and Livingston. He is known for his stellar performances but his favorite role is being the father to his kids. “It’s the one thing I’ve always wanted to be,” he told GQ in November 2014. He also said, "never is a man more of a man than when he is the father of a newborn."
He also added, "Whatever decisions you make in the first six months of becoming a father, double down on them. I mean, you’re meeting the Courier. You’re meeting the Shepherd, the Future Prince. You immediately have something you don’t have to think about. You know what’s important." Matthew also discussed how he has changed as a person after becoming a father. He said, "Bam! And the clarity of that is like, 'Whew.' I definitely got more selfish. And at the same time, I think I got more compassionate, which don’t always go together, you know?"
Matthew also spoke to E News about the value of tough love, "Sometimes loving your kids means giving them just what they want. Other times it means tough love. Affluent people can give their kids everything they want, but they're not usually going to get what they need. Loving a child is a lot harder if you really give a damn. ‘No' takes a lot more energy. It's a lot easier to say ‘yes'."
In October 2020, Camila shared a photo with her eldest son on Instagram. Fans noticed the uncanny resemblance with his father. Matthew spoke about his look-alike son in an interview with Entertainment Tonight, a month later. He said, "Levi is the most considerate person I’ve ever met,” the Dallas Buyers Club actor said, adding, “Yeah, he’s extremely considerate and a very, very sensitive young man and really cares — really caring kid." He further said, "And he, like me, has a very much perfectionist bone in him. He wants things to be exactly how he wants them, and he is very definite at exactly how that is and is not afraid to hop up on the chair and orate to everyone exactly what he means in case you do not understand.”
Two years after welcoming Levi, the loving parents welcomed their second child and first daughter, Vida, on January 3, 2010. In December 2020, Vida joined her dad’s interview on the Why Not Now? podcast. Matthew asked his daughter about what lessons he continues to learn from his kids. "Trusting, I guess, when you correct us," Vida said. “A lot of times you’ll correct us and then you’ll come back and you explain why you corrected us. But usually, we’re just like … ‘We got it the first time.’"
Matthew and Camila welcomed their youngest child and second son, Livingston, on December 28, 2012. Camila spoke about how raising Livingston was different from his other two kids, "It was different with all my kids. My two oldest were so good. And my third came along and he was a nightmare from day one,” Camila recalled during an appearance on the YouTube series Mom2Mom in December 2018. “He was really, really attached to me. He would just throw fits and cry. He would not get out of that stage until he was like 4.”
Now, the family of five is complete and finds joy in spending time together.
References:
https://www.gq.com/story/matthew-mcconaughey-career?currentPage=2
https://www.facebook.com/AmyJoMartin/videos/818431488729447/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hqnq9V-rdBg
Cover Image Source: Getty Images | Photo By Amy Sussman
