The actor's upcoming films include Steven Soderbergh's stripper comedy Magic Mike and William Friedkin's Killer Joe.
"I did have to say no to a lot of romantic comedies," McConaughey told ShortList.
"I think Hollywood got a little bit like, 'Okay, he seriously doesn't want to do any of those right now'. And however the world works, something happened and the message got out."
He added: "The first time I read Killer Joe, I thought, 'I don't want anything to do with this. I feel sick to my stomach. I need to take a shower'.
"I went back and read it again and suddenly it clicked. Oh, this is a riot, man. It was exactly what I was looking for. I was like, yeah, this acting thing, it's a rodeo.
"All right, let's go ride the bull. Let's go shake some s**t up. You can dig as deep as you want because it's about reality, not morality. Let's get it on. Let's go fly."
Watch Matthew McConaughey in the Killer Joe trailer below:
Photo gallery - Magic Mike stills:
