TEXAS – Actor and Austin staple Matthew McConaughey has previously said he’d be open to running for governor of Texas next year, but his recent appearance on a podcast suggests he’s seriously weighing a run.

Appearing Wednesday on an episode of Crime Stoppers of Houston’s The Balanced Voice podcast, when asked about it, the Academy Award winner said it’s a “true consideration.”

“Because I do think I have some things to teach and share, and what is my role? What's my category in my next chapter of life that I'm going into?" McConaughey said.

Back in November 2020, while appearing on The Hugh Hewitt Show, the actor and philanthropist, who has no experience in politics, said his running for office would ultimately be up to the people of Texas.

"I don’t know. I mean, that wouldn’t be up to me. It would be up to the people more than it would me," McConaughey said. "I would say this: Look, politics seems to be a broken business to me right now. And when politics redefines its purpose, I could be a hell of a lot more interested."

While he didn’t reveal a party affiliation or platform, the actor said his focus would be on getting "behind personal values to rebind our social contracts with each other as Americans, as people again."

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, is up for re-election in 2022.

There’s more potential competition. Former congressman and presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke has hinted he may challenge Abbott.

Actors entering the political arena is hardly new. Prior to becoming the 40th president of the United States and following a lengthy acting career, Ronald Reagan became governor of California in 1966.

Professional wrestler and actor Jesse Ventura was elected mayor of Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, in 1991, a position he held until 1995. In 1998, he was the Reform Party candidate for governor and narrowly defeated both the Republican and Democratic nominees.

In 2003, famed bodybuilder and Hollywood action star Arnold Schwarzenegger was elected in a special recall election to replace then-California Gov. Gray Davis. He went on to be re-elected in 2006 and fulfilled a full term before returning to acting.