The "McConaissance" is the name given to Matthew McConaughey's dramatic career transformation from rom-com star to one of Hollywood's most acclaimed actors.
After films like How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, Failure to Launch and Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, Hollywood had largely typecast him as the charming rom-com lead. McConaughey wanted more challenging dramatic roles, so he made a huge decision: he stopped doing romantic comedies.
Even when one offer reportedly climbed from around $8 million to nearly $15 million, he still turned it down. Then the calls stopped.
For roughly 20 months, McConaughey says he barely received acting offers at all. But instead of going back, he stayed away long enough for Hollywood's image of him to change.
Soon came Mud, Magic Mike, Dallas Buyers Club, True Detective and Interstellar.
In 2014, he won the Oscar for Best Actor for Dallas Buyers Club.