Los Angeles, Jan 25 (IANS): Actor Matthew McConaughey has recalled that no one was willing to cast him in Hollywood after he rejected romantic comedies.

McConaughey made a name for himself in Hollywood through romantic films such as "The Wedding Planner", "Ghosts Of Girlfriends Past" and "How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days".

However, in order to move away from the generic image, he once even turned down a $14.5 million offer for a rom-com.

Now, during an appearance in "The Brian Buffini Show", the actor said he is glad that the self-imposed exile had worked in his favour, reports contactmusic.com.

He said: "Now, 14 months go by after that six months where nothing comes in, I call my agent every other day, 'What do you got?' 'Buddy, no one is even mentioning your name. I bring up your name they say, 'Don't even want to talk about it'."

The actor continued: "Now I'm going, 'I may have just taken a one-way ticket out of Hollywood. I may never work in Hollywood again'. But I had a hunch that I was like with each day -- You know when you go and you endure something and you're taking a pennant, with each day you build a little bit more honour and strength to drag it into this, the less it's even going to be a possibility of me going back. I was not going back."

McConaughey, who won an Oscar as Best Actor for the biopic drama "Dallas Buyers Club", further shared: "Guess who is now a new novel good idea for dramatic roles like 'Killer Joe', 'Mud', 'Paperboy', 'Bernie', 'True Detective', 'Dallas Buyers Club', 'Magic Mike'? Me. I found anonymity in the 20 months."

"I turned into, 'Where the hell's McConaughey? He's not in a rom-com in the theatre in front of me. He's not in a rom-com in my living room. I'm not seeing him shirtless on the beach, where the hell is he? I don't know what he's doing'."

"I found anonymity. I unbranded, and then when those came to me, the scripts came to me that I want to do that dramatic fair, I attacked it with fangs instead and just ate it up, because I knew what I wanted to do, but it was the unbranding. It was the go find anonymity again," he added.