Matthew McConaughey sat down with People for an in-depth cover interview on how his life and parenting goals have been upended during quarantine.
McConaughey and his wife Camila, 37, share Levi, 12, Vida, 10, and Livingston, 8, and he says that the trio are flourishing during this challenging time by seeking creative outlets.
The 50-year-old Oscar winner says: “They have doubled down on their hobbies, creative things and parts of themselves I don’t think they would have leaned into if they were back in school.”
“One of the assets of this COVID quarantine is they’ve been forced to be more self-reliant. They’ve been forced to create their way out of their boredom,” he says.
“They’re becoming pretty good storytellers too,” McConaughey says. “Our youngest one will come fill us in: ‘Oh, I’m on chapter two …’ Vida really likes to paint and draw and loves graphic novels. … For Levi it’s probably more music. Basically he came out of the womb knowing a minor from major key on the piano. In the last six months, he really got into listening to composers, and he now can listen to a movie and tell you, ‘Oh, that’s Hans Zimmer,’ or ‘That’s John Williams,’ which is really cool.”
“The only thing I ever knew I wanted to be was a father,” he says. “And it’s remained the pinnacle for me. Being a dad was always my only dream. … I can’t think of anything being more important.”
He also discusses the “awe-inspiring” gift of parenthood in his new memoir, Greenlights, out October 20th.