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Matthew McConaugheyhasn’t decided to run for governor of Texas — yet — but says politics is definitely in his future in some form.
Amid the building buzz around McConaughey’s possible campaign, the Oscar-winning actor says in a new interview that while a political turn is imminent, it won’t define him.
“I’m measuring it,” the actor told the guys of Midland for an episode ofthe country band’s podcastSet It Straight: Myths and Legends.“Look, it’s going to be in some capacity. I’m more of a folk-singing, philosopher, poet-statesman than I am per-se definitive politician, so I go, ‘Well that’s a reason not to,’ and then I go, ‘No, that’s exactly why you should, because politics needs redefinition.’ "
O’Rourke, a former congressman who unsuccessfully ran for the Senate and for president, appeared at theTexas Tribune Festivalon Friday and said he was “very seriously” considering challenging Abbott and will make a decision “in the near future.”
University of Texas at Austin
He also spoke about a possible candidacy for McConaughey.
“He’s a really popular figure whose political views have not in any way been fixed,” O’Rourke said. “I don’t know, for example, who he voted for in the most consequential election since 1864 in this country. I don’t know how he feels about any of the issues. … So I think that might explain part of [the polling].”
O’Rourke also praised McConaughey for helping the communities of El Paso afterthe 2019 mass shootingthere. McConaughey “brought some of his star power and celebrity to a city that is so often forgotten,” he said of the actor.
In his chat with Midland, McConaughey said he won’t abandon his creative pursuits if he decides to run for office. “I have to remain a storyteller,” he said. “I’ve been given that gift. I love doing it. I have to remain an artist.”
McConaughey lives in Austin with his wife,Camila Alves, and their children: Levi, Livingston and Vida Alves McConaughey.
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Apart from his family life and Hollywood career, McConaughey also juggles work with hisjust keep livin Foundation, part-ownership of the city’s Major League soccer team Austin FC and a role as professor of practice at the University of Texas' Moody College of Communication in the Department of Radio-Television-Film. He even has his own record label, j.k. livin records.
“I’m a song and dance guy,” he told Midland on the band’s podcast.
Adding politician to his already long list of responsibilities would be even more of a balancing act, but McConaughey says he’s up for it.
“I’ve earned the right to enjoy that Saturday night part of life, that music part of life. … I’m very good at being diligent — Monday morning, practical, structure — I’m all of that but I’ve got to continue to be an artist,” he said. “If that’s the category to continue to be able to do that in, which would be different than I think some people have done it up to now, maybe it’s for me. But maybe it’s also in a whole new category that I’m just creating.”
source: people.com
