Matthew McConaughey is reminiscing about the acting process as he makes his comeback in the industry.

McConaughey, 55, has returned to live-action movies after a six-year-long break. He discussed his return during the premiere of his movie The Rivals of Amziah King at the SXSW festival in Austin, Texas.

“I remembered a couple of things,” McConaughey told Variety. “One, how much I truly enjoy performing. Two, I remembered, ‘Hey, McConaughey, you’re pretty damn good at this.’ And three, I remembered that acting is a vacation for me. And what I mean by vacation is that when I’m performing, it’s my singular focus.”

“When I walk out the door in the morning, my wife says, ‘go kick some ass. I got the kiddos. We’re good.’ That’s vacation,” the How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days star added. “Because I’m not multitasking. I’m not compartmentalizing. I’m fully focused on finding the truth of my character.”

Regarding his time away from live-action films, he said, “I needed to write my own story, direct my own story on the page.”

He shared that he spent his time away with his wife Camila Alves McConaughey and kids. McConaughey also penned a memoir titled Greenlights in 2021.

In The Rivals of Amziah King, Matthew McConaughey plays a musician/farmer in rural Oklahoma who embarks on a mission to reconnect with his estranged foster daughter.