Why matthew mcconaughey almost went blind

When asked to share a worst moment from his career, the story he told illustrated this very point. And the first two auditions I went on, I got the job. I have the instincts for this, but maybe now I should go learn what it is. During this time I was still going to auditions but never landing the job and it was because I was getting heady; I was learning how to do something for the first time that I only instinctually understood how to do before.

So in the beginning of this learning curve I was not landing jobs. And I was kind of concerned about this. It was a one-day role for a guy who was a drug runner on the south border of Texas where it meets Mexico and the coyotes are bringing the drugs over and instead of me paying for them, I shoot the guys, steal the drugs and get away with it.

I have not looked at the script. Page One: OK. Page Two: OooK. Page Three: OooooK. Page Four: Oh shoot. It was a four page monologue — in Spanish! Long laugh. You have to prepare to have freedom.

You have to do the work early so you can play on the day. You have to get organized so you can let it all blow in the wind.

The actor did lose about 50 pounds for his role by surviving on two diet Cokes, egg whites, and a piece of chicken every day, he told The Daily Mirror back in April. It's possible that McConaughey was being deprived of several essential vitamins and minerals during his three-month diet and could explain his alleged loss of vision.

Starvation and malnutrition can cause severe night blindness , since our bodies rely on nutrients to function correctly. Night blindness is just what it sounds like — your night vision is severely limited. Our eyes use proteins that contain a special chemical called retinol that turns photons — packets of light — into electrical signals that are transmitted to the brain, where we understand them as pictures.

Retinol specifically works in low-light situations. In the s researchers discovered that to make retinol we need Vitamin A [PDF] which we get from the beta-carotene in our food.

When someone is malnourished, they likely aren't getting enough Vitamin A to make retinol, so they start losing their sight. This could be what happened to McConaughey, though we can't know for sure. He's since regained weight and his alleged vision problems have disappeared. Beta-carotene is found in vegetables like carrots, and is what give them their orange color.

It's also in most multivitamins. When kids grow up without enough Vitamin A they can be blind for life. Every year , children will die from Vitamin A deficiency, and , will go blind, the Non-Governmental Organization says. For you. World globe An icon of the world globe, indicating different international options.