Matthew McConaughey Says Fatherhood Is His Greatest Legacy

Matthew McConaughey is reflecting on what it means to be a father and the legacy he hopes to leave behind.

The 56-year-old actor recently spoke with PEOPLE about his new film, The Rivals of Amziah King. In the movie, McConaughey plays Amziah, a beekeeper and bluegrass musician who reconnects with his former foster daughter after years apart. As they rebuild their relationship, he teaches her the family beekeeping business while trying to protect what he has worked so hard to build.

The story also made McConaughey think about his own children and the values he hopes they will carry with them.

“Every parent out there, what do you want for your children? You want to pass on some values and things that you built in your own life,” he said.

McConaughey explained that parents do not necessarily want their children to become copies of them. Instead, they hope their children will take the lessons that matter and carry them into the future.

“You don’t want them to be exactly like you, but you want them to take some things and keep them alive after you are gone,” he said. “That’s how you become immortal.”

McConaughey shares three children with his wife, Camila Alves McConaughey: sons Levi, 18, and Livingston, 13, and daughter Vida, 16.

For McConaughey, fatherhood has long been more important than his Hollywood career. During a 2020 interview with PEOPLE, he said becoming a father had always been his biggest dream.

“The only thing I ever knew I wanted to be was a father,” he said at the time. “And it’s remained the pinnacle for me.”

He expressed a similar view earlier this year while appearing on Bear Grylls Is Running Wild. McConaughey described being a good father as one of the most meaningful things a man can accomplish.

“I think the greatest art that a man can make is being a good father to a son or a daughter,” he told Bear Grylls.

He also compared fatherhood to the beginning of a person's lasting legacy, saying that parents are mortal but their influence can continue through their children and future generations.

McConaughey has also been open about his approach to discipline. He believes parents sometimes need to practice “tough love,” even when it is difficult.

In a 2020 interview with Town & Country, he said that giving children everything they want is not always the same as giving them what they need.

“‘No’ takes a lot more energy. It’s a lot easier to say ‘yes,’” he explained.

That philosophy is reflected in The Rivals of Amziah King, where his character tries to prepare his former foster daughter for life by teaching her valuable skills and helping her understand the challenges of the world around her.

The film, directed by Andrew Patterson and written by James Montague, also stars Cole Sprouse, Scott Shepherd, Jake Horowitz and Kurt Russell. The Rivals of Amziah King is currently playing in theaters.