Matthew McConaughey reflects on his life at 50: I want to 'look forward to looking back'
Matthew McConaughey recently turned 50 and hitting the big birthday milestone is making him reflect on his life – and death.
In an interview with People, the "Dallas Buyers Club" star said he lives his life in a way that would make his eulogy something to be proud of.
“It’s really fun and interesting for me to go, ‘Okay, project forward and look back at your eulogy. What will they say to your eulogy?’ " McConaughey told People in an interview published Wednesday. “Can I live a life where I can look forward to looking back?"
The father of three is married to model Camila Alves and said having kids made him think about the legacy he's leaving behind.
McConaughey said that being in his position, he had the means to give back to the community.
Aside from acting and winning Academy Awards in his spare time, McConaughey also runs the Just Keep Livin Foundation, which he started more than 10 years ago to offer after-school programs to help at-risk youth. He also teaches in the Department of Radio-Television-Film at his alma mater, the University of Texas at Austin.
"I wanted to do something that was incentive-based, to prevent before we had the cure. So we found high school students who needed what we wanted to give them, which is exercise goals, nutrition goals, accountability to community service and a halo of gratitude," he said. "We have students who were about to fail out, on drugs, and came into our curriculum, graduated, got scholarships and just graduated from a major university. That kind of stuff really feels good."
All of this didn't come as a result of the actor hitting the big 5-0.
"I didn’t turn 50 and go, ‘Now, I’ve got to think about heavy stuff.’ If anything, I was happy to go, ‘You know what? I guess a feel 50 because I’m 50,’ " he said. “But subconsciously, I’m sure it had something to do with it.”
McConaughey is showing no signs of slowing down either. The Oscar winner made his Instagram debut on his birthday and recently starred in the "Gentleman."
In his first video post to Instagram, McConaughey said that he started his account to share "who I am with you." But, the actor admitted he's "nervous" about putting himself out there.
"Look, this is my first venture into sharing myself and my views with the world, and I’m a little bit nervous about it because quite frankly, I know I want to have a monologue, I’m not sure I want to have the dialogue," he said before breaking out into laughter.
A 'red hot' setup: Matthew McConaughey, Hugh Grant are trying to set up their parents
The good and the bad: The best and worst Matthew McConaughey movies, definitively ranked (including 'The Gentlemen')
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Matthew McConaughey reflects on turning 50, social impact
