Matthew McConaughey says he struggles to watch his own films after they’re finished.
The actor, 56, made the admission in a recent episode of SiriusXM’s Where Everybody Knows Your Name podcast with Ted Danson and Woody Harrelson.
McConaughey explained that while he is comfortable in the moment on set, he becomes overly critical when watching himself later.
“I’m f****** Brando or Olivier when I’m working,” Danson added. “When I watch it, oh jeez. I become this judgmental d***.”
He said it often takes him four attempts to finish one of his own films and that only by the fourth viewing can he make it through without dissecting every choice he made onscreen.
“I’m a four-time guy,” he shared. “Me watching my own work. The fourth time I watch it, if I make it that far, is when I actually can watch the whole the movie.”
The Oscar winner admitted his discomfort comes from being highly self-analytical as he tends to judge his work harshly.
“I’ll be judgmental, and I’m not wrong. But maybe I shouldn’t be that hard,” he shared, adding that he prefers to be on set, acting. “I like doing it. … We’ve all done it long enough. You know when you hit it, you got to look the other direction and go, ‘Yep,’ and they go, ‘Yeah.'”
Although he believes some of that criticism is valid, he acknowledged he may be too tough on himself. For McConaughey, the satisfaction comes from doing the work, not reviewing it afterward.
He also shared that constantly revisiting his performances could make him overly concerned with appearance or ego, something he actively tries to avoid. Once he and the director agree that a scene works, he prefers to move on rather than revisit it.
During the conversation, McConaughey reflected on how experience has changed his approach to acting. Early in his career, he said there was often a gap between what he intended to do and what appeared onscreen. Over time, that gap narrowed as his instincts sharpened.
