Matthew McConaughey sat down with BBC’s Andrew Marr for an interview to talk about his new crime drama film, Gold, but there was another controversial topic that he touched on.
While discussing the topic of how he relates to his True Detective character, Rust, the conversation turned to Donald Trump when Marr said that “every single American actor or arty type who come to London dumps on Trump.”
The Oscar-winning actor was asked if it’s time for Hollywood and the cultural elite of America to “give the guy a break.”
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McConaughey responded, “Well, they don’t have much of a choice. He’s our president. And it’s very dynamic and as divisive of an inauguration and time as we’ve had. At the same time, it’s time for us to embrace and shake hands with this fact and be constructive with him over the next four years.”
“So, even those who most strongly may disagree with his principles or things he’s said and done — which is another thing, we’ll see what he does compared to what he had said — no matter how much you even disagreed along the way, it’s time to think about how constructive can you be. Because he’s our president for the next four years. At least. President of the United States.”
People on social media were quick to point out that McConaughey’s wife Camila Alves is a Brazilian immigrant who moved to the U.S. when she was 15. Alves became an American citizen in 2015.
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McConaughey voiced a similar opinion towards embracing Trump during a recent interview promoting the movie Sing.
When asked if he would be attending the inauguration, McConaughey said if he was in America he wasn’t going to be able to go to it but he planned on watching it.
“Very dynamic and special day … live in the history of not just the United States but the world today. There’s more division, I think, than ever with this inauguration but it’s going to be a dynamic four years and I think that we, especially, in America need to shake hands with the fact that this is happening,” McConaughey said.
“It’s going down … we all need to embrace that and go forward and make the best of the next four years.”
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Hollywood has been outspoken since President Trump took office. Reality star Kim Kardashian responded to Trump’s travel ban by posting a graphic to Twitter showing the number of Americans killed annually by varying or random circumstances.
Ashton Kutcher opened this year’s SAG Awards ceremony by welcoming everyone watching at home and then saying angrily, “… and everyone in airports that belong in my America.” Kutcher’s reference to immigration restrictions imposed by Trump drew thunderous applause. (Kutcher’s wife, Mila Kunis, came to the U.S. under refugee status.)
Actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus mixed comedy and seriousness in her acceptance speech at the SAG Awards, joking about the Russians interfering in the award voting. She then became serious, saying her father fled Nazi-occupied France. She called the immigration restrictions imposed by Trump a “blemish” on American history.
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Trump’s executive order, titled “Protection Of The Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry Into The United States,” closes the U.S. borders to refugees for four months. For 90 days, visas will also not be issued to nationals from seven Muslim-majority countries — Syria, Iraq, Sudan, Libya, Somalia, Yemen and Iran. This ban would apply to anyone from those countries visiting the U.S., not just people seeking asylum or looking to emigrate.
It’s unclear if McConaughey’s interview that aired Sunday in the U.K., was taped before or after Trump’s travel ban.
McConaughey is promoting his new film, Gold, in which he plays a businessman who discovers the precious metal in the jungles of Indonesia.
Gold arrived in theatres Jan. 27, 2017.
With files from the Associated Press
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