Matthew McConaughey explains why he doesn’t want his kids to be ‘exactly’ like him

Matthew McConaughey has had an insanely impressive three decade career, which is still going strong - but he still doesn't want his children to be 'exactly like him'.

The How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days star is a proud father to three children, sons Levi, 18, and Livingston, 13, and daughter Vida, 16, who he shares with his wife, Camila Alves McConaughey.

The couple, who met in 2006, in a nightclub in Los Angeles, dated for six years, before they tied the knot in 2012. Two years after meeting, McConaughey and Camilla welcomed their first child, Levi.

“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,” the 56-year-old told People when talking about his family.

“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, stating, 'that's how you become immortal'.

Matthew and Camila have three children (Photo by COLE BURSTON/AFP via Getty Images)

It's not the first time the Hollywood star, who is starring in the new movie The Rivals of Amziah King, has opened up about his life as a dad, and his parenting style.

In 2023, he was praised by parents for revealing he and his wife Camila banned their eldest son from having social media until he was 15.

"Oh he wanted it early on, probably when he was 12, definitely 13. Definitely 14," he explained to Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush on the Today show.

"And we waited till he was 15."

Describing it as 'sending your kids off with a bunch of strangers into the world' he said he and his wife spent time talking about social media - including the downfalls.

"Because what happens a lot of times with young people and social media is they wake up in the morning and the first thing on their mind is, 'What will be a good post?' instead of, 'What do I want to do today?'" he added.

More recently, McConaughey opened up on the This Past Weekend with Theo Von podcast, in which he said he 'always knew he wanted to be a father'.

McConaughey spoke about his mother's reaction when she found out him and Camila were expecting their first child (Photo by Eric Charbonneau/Apple TV+ via Getty Images)

He explained that the couple didn't rush into marriage however, as both of their parents had been divorced multiple times.

The actor then spoke how his mother scolded him for having a baby with Camila, before they were married, when he told her the happy news.

"‘No, no, no, no, no, Matthew! This is out of order! I didn’t raise you to do this. No, Matthew, you’re supposed to be married!’ And went on and on and on in a five-minute monologue and then hung up," he told the podcast, explaining the interaction between the two.

However, McConaughey revealed that he received a call back from his mom just 10 minutes later, who apologized for 'being selfish,' saying she was 'happy for them'.

As well as Levi, the celebrity couple also welcomed their daughter, Vida, before tying the knot.