Matthew McConaughey and Camila Alves use family rituals as the key to holding their household together
Opening up about his domestic life, actor Matthew McConaughey has said he and his wife Camila Alves use family rituals as the key to holding their household together.
Matthew McConaughey and his wife Camila Alves use family rituals as the key to holding their household together.
The actor, 55, made the admission while opening up about how they raise their three children in Texas.
Matthew said in an interview with People magazine the family of five make a point of coming together each day, adding: “Whether that’s gathering for dinner and sitting down and sharing about our day at the end of the day, or cooking a meal together or taking trips together, we do a lot together.”
Matthew and Camila have children Levi, 17, Vida, 15, and Livingston, 12.
Levi, who joined his father and grandmother Kay on the cover of People’s Generations issue ahead of their Apple TV+ film The Lost Bus, added family responsibility has always been emphasised.
He said: “We always had chores. We started off with an allowance. Then, as we got older, it was still chores, but the allowance slowly... .”
Matthew interjected: “Turned into more: ‘This is how you pay your way’.”
Levi smiled and added: “Exactly. This is how you get Christmas presents... .”
The family also travel together when Matthew is on set for more than a week, a routine the actor says prevents long absences.
He said: “That’s helped a lot. So I’m not going to work on my own returning three months later and having to play catch-up with (Camila) or with the kids.
“Camila drew that line in the sand before we even had kids. Is it getting more difficult now to continue to do that when (Levi) is on teams and Vida’s got dance and social circles (and) Livingston’s on a football team? Will that be harder now to pull them? Yeah, we’ll make that decision when it comes. But so far, so good.”
Reflecting on his upbringing, Matthew said his parents were strict.
He said: “Growing up, there was a lot of ‘Because I said so’.
“Camila and I try to listen longer, more, try to understand. If I get to where I have to raise my voice, I feel I’m already going, ‘Let me backtrack and see, what did I miss on the way to letting it get to this point?’”
Kay, who now lives with the family, recalled: “Do you ever get in any kind of argument? And I don’t know which one said it, but it was more or less, ‘When we do, we don’t do it around the kids’.”
Matthew admitted parenthood has surprised him.
He said: “It’s more DNA than I thought. I thought it was 90 percent environment, 10 percent DNA, when it’s closer to the opposite. Kids are who they are.”
Levi, who will next appear in Way of the Warrior Kid alongside Chris Pratt, also said he was drawn to acting after his role in The Lost Bus.
He added: “This role wasn’t me going ‘Oh, I’m going to become an actor,’” he said. “It was me saying, ‘I’m really interested in this.’”
Matthew, who rose to prominence with Dazed and Confused in 1993 and A Time To Kill in 1996, said he has shared guidance with his son.
He said: “I’ve tried to give him some tips that I’ve learned along the way, tried to give him some of those tips earlier than I understood them.
“It’s hard to keep your feet on the ground to sift out the real stuff from the BS.
“But over time, you got to get that sixth sense. It’s important that he has his own ownership of who he is and becomes. And (acting) will be a part of that if he continues to do it, part of finding his identity, but it can’t be his full identity.”
