Matthew McConaughey is sharing another strange “wet dream” anecdote with his fans.
In his Livin’ Lyrics newsletter released Friday, Jan. 9, McConaughey, 56, explained how a wild dream in 2001 led him to participate in a WWE-style wrestling match in a small African village.
In the newsletter, McConaughey recalled sleeping in a hotel in Dublin, Ireland, in July 2001 when he had the dream.
“I had a wet dream,” he wrote. “I was floating downstream on my back in the Amazon River, surrounded by anacondas and pythons, surrounded by crocodiles, piranhas and a few freshwater sharks. African tribesmen lined the ridge to my left, shoulder to shoulder, as far as my eyes could see. I was at peace. I was eleven seconds back.
The Magic Mike The actor explained that the sight inspired him to take a trip to Africa, so he bought a ticket to “the huge continent that my wet dream was calling me to”.
“I bought a one-way ticket to Bamako, the capital of Mali, then hitchhiked nine hours to the port city of Mopti, where I met a guide named Issa who had a boat,” McConaughey continued.
In order to keep his real identity hidden, McConaughey recalled telling people he met that his name was David and that he was a writer and boxer.
After word got out in a small African village that a stranger, who claimed to be a champion boxer, was in their midst, McConaughey was accosted by villagers who wanted to challenge him to a fight.
Matthew McConaughey.
(Photo by Tibrina Hobson/Getty Images)“Now there was a much bigger, healthier, shirtless man with a burlap sack tied around his waist. He pointed at my chest, then at his, then at a large pit of dirt,” McConaughey wrote. “I looked at Issa. He smiled. “This is Michel. He is the true fighting champion of the village.” My heart began to race. Then I heard my own voice whisper: Accept the challenge or you will forever regret not knowing. Leave your scent. I stood up, pointed to his chest, then to mine, and walked to the well. The villagers bathed.”
McConaughey went on to describe the violent battle between the men that occurred during the first round of the fight.
“Head to head, we spun in a few circles measuring each other’s strength before Michel picked me up and lifted me to him, my chest to his face, then body slammed me into the ground, knocking the wind out of me. One for him,” McConaughey wrote. “The crowd howled as he tried to grab me. I countered, whipped my hips, swung my leg over his head and knocked him back. One for me. For a few minutes we tossed and turned and crashed each other to the ground. Neither of us could grab the other. His head broke. He was bleeding, torn, hyperventilating.”
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The actor said the fight continued for another round as the pair battled until there was a stalemate with both “locked in the dirt, completely exhausted, until the boss stepped in and called it out.”
Looking back later, McConaughey reflected that this WWE-style fight fell through “all because I was chasing a wet dream. Literally.”
It’s not the first time Dallas Buyers Club star has claimed that a wet dream had changed the trajectory of his life.
In November 2025, McConaughey claimed in another edition of his newsletter that a cheeky dream brought him find love with woman Camila Alves.
“I had met, spent time with, and seriously dated wonderful women in my life, many of whom I am still friends with today, but ultimately, they were all one stop, no stay,” McConaughey wrote at the time. “In my mid-30s, I was looking for a lifelong lover, a best friend and a mother-to-be. I was looking for more, I was looking for her, I was looking for her.”
He added: “Then I had a wet dream.”