Matthew McConaughey Says He Currently Has 'No Plans' to Run For Governor of Texas

The 'True Detective' co-crafter's new book 'Greenlights' recently opened in the No. 1 spot. Here, he talks with Colbert about politics and pandemics.

November 19, 2020

Matthew McConaughey, whose new book Greenlights recently opened at No. 1 on the New York Times non-fiction bestseller list, dropped in on the Late Show proceedings on Wednesday night to caution against holiday-related gatherings and field inquiries from host Stephen Colbert about the likelihood of him one day running for governor of Texas.

Asked for a "simple answer" on whether he might consider running for the office, McConaughey gave what Colbert immediately joked was the most "political answer" possible.

"I have no plans to do that right now," McConaughey said. "As I said, that would be up to a lot of other people."

Elaborating a bit further, McConaughey highlighted what he described as the obvious brokenness of the current political infrastructure here in the States.

"Look, right now, no, I don't get politics," the actor, whose performance in the first season of HBO's True Detective still routinely provides me with swaths of creative inspiration, said. "Politics seems to be a broken business. Politics needs to redefine its purpose. As I move forward in life, yes, am I gonna consider leadership roles where i can be most useful? I'd love to. I'm doing that, regardless. That's where I sit right now."

Elsewhere, McConaughey was asked to provide some words of encouragement to anyone whose wise decision to forego impending holiday gatherings might be causing them distress.

"I would say this, it is a good time to think about, oh, let's survive, let's not thrive," McConaughey, who's looking forward to 2021 festivities as a chance to "double up," said. "I know you wanna get together with all your family who come from all over the country but this year might be a good year to hold off on that. And if you do that, that'll be better than the turkey was ever gonna taste, I think."

Peep the full interview, which also sees McConaughey discussing Wild Turkey's recent honoring of everyday heroes through its With Thanks partnership, up top.