Why Matthew McConaughey Feels Being a Dad 'Has Made Me a Better Actor' (Exclusive)

The star shares three children — Levi, 15, Vida, 14, and Livingston, 11 — with wife Camila Alves McConaughey

Matthew McConaughey has been able to dig deep as an actor thanks to his role as a father of three.

The Oscar winner is one of 11 stars featured on the cover of PEOPLE's 50th anniversary special issue. During his interview, McConaughey, 54, reflects on how his children — Levi, 15, Vida, 14, and Livingston, 11, whom he shares with wife Camila Alves McConaughey — have "made me a better actor."

"Having children I know has made me a better artist and has made me a better actor, because kids see things for the first time all the time. Their questions are innocent," he says. "I become a better storyteller because I have kids, meaning, I come home from work on something like True Detective, and my 4-year-old kid goes, 'What'd you do today?' I cannot tell them what the show's really about, it's not age-appropriate. So I have to go into a parable for them."

"And so I had to become a better storyteller to tell my kids about a good guy, a bad guy and a monster in this, to tell them the parable of the story I was in," McConaughey continues.

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Related: Matthew McConaughey's 3 Kids: All About Levi, Vida and Livingston

According to McConaughey, as his three kids grew up he realized that he never worked on an age-appropriate project for them to watch.

"As you become a parent, what do you end up watching? You end up watching mostly what your kids are watching, and so I was like, 'Man, I've never been a part of an animated film,' and I like doing voice work," he details.

Eventually, McConaughey signed on to star in the 2016 animated film Sing, in which he worked opposite Taron Egerton, Scarlett Johansson and Tori Kelly — plus another star featured on the cover of PEOPLE's 50th anniversary special issue, Reese Witherspoon — as koala Buster Moon.

"They thought it was really cool," McConaughey says of his three children. "I remember sitting at the premiere with them listening and going, 'Hey, that sounds like ...' and they had that moment where they look at the screen and audio, and then look at me sitting next to them and do the math. That was really cool to them, and that was something I did for them — and the kid in all of us."

Related: Matthew and Camila Alves McConaughey's 3 Kids Growing Up Over the Years: Photos

Also in this week's issue, McConaughey looked back to his childhood years and revealed if he would give his younger self any advice.

"Oh, I wouldn't tell him. I'd let him figure it out the same way I did," the star, who gives back through his work with the just keep livin Foundation and efforts like the Greenlights Grant Initiative, says.

"Take feeder roads off the highway. Get confused, get frustrated, feel lost and overcome it," he continues.

Adds McConaughey: "I think the amount of sweat that I got there, or blood that was drawn, was healthy for me."

For more on our 50th Anniversary, check out our special digital issue, and pick up a star-studded copy of PEOPLE, on newsstands now. 

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