Matthew McConaughey reveals 22-day Peru retreat to escape fame and rediscover identity

Actor Matthew McConaughey has revealed that he once spent 22 days living in Peru without electricity in an effort to distance himself from fame and rediscover his sense of identity in the early years of his career.

Speaking on the No Magic Pill podcast hosted by TOMS founder Blake Mycoskie, the Oscar-winning star said the trip came shortly after his breakout success in Hollywood and marked a turning point in how he understood himself beyond celebrity.

“I needed to get my feet on the ground,” McConaughey said, explaining that he “checked out” of Hollywood life and travelled to Peru under the name “Mateo” to avoid recognition and experience life anonymously.

The actor, who rose to fame in the 1990s following his role in Dazed and Confused and later starred in films such as A Time to Kill, said the experience helped him question what parts of his life and identity were authentic.

“I needed to find it, to check the validation,” he said. “I knew I had it, I just had to go prove it again.”

McConaughey described the first phase of the trip as mentally difficult, saying the initial 12 days felt “wonky” as he adjusted to isolation and a lack of familiar comforts. However, he said the experience gradually became more grounding.

“I was now at the place long enough to go, ‘I could live this,’” he said, adding that the shift helped him realise he could return home without losing himself.

During his time in Peru, McConaughey said he interacted with locals who only knew him as “Mateo,” an experience he described as emotionally powerful because it removed the weight of celebrity.

“I needed to meet people who knew me as Mateo,” he explained, noting that fame had made the world feel like a “mirror” reflecting an altered version of himself.

At the end of the 22-day journey, McConaughey said both he and the people he met were emotional when parting ways, despite their brief connection.

“The tears in their eyes and the tears in my eyes… were all based off of the man they met named Mateo,” he said, adding that the experience ultimately reaffirmed his sense of self.

“It reaffirmed my own identity that, ‘Oh, I still got it. This is based on me.’”

The actor also reflected on a separate solo retreat he undertook while writing his book Poems & Prayers, where he spent time in isolation without electricity in the desert to reflect on personal struggles.

He said such periods of solitude often come with emotional difficulty before leading to clarity.

“There comes the breakthrough,” he said, describing the process as confronting guilt and personal reflection before reaching emotional release.

McConaughey said these experiences helped him better understand himself outside of fame, emphasizing the importance of stepping away from external validation to reconnect with identity.