He may be People Magazine 's Sexiest Man of the Year but that isn't stopping Matthew McConaughey from being humble about it.

The Texas-born star of “Failure to Launch” continues to win the hearts of women and the envy of men in his latest romantic comedy opening this weekend. McConaughey (having proven his success in the genre with such hits as “EdTV,” “The Wedding Planner,” and “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days”) joins another veteran in the genre as he pairs up with “Sex in the City” star Sarah Jessica Parker.” McConaughey plays Tripp, a 35-year-old man who has trouble moving away from home. Out of ideas, his parents (Kathy Bates & Terry Bradshaw) decide to hire a professional named Paula (Parker) to fall in love with Tripp in order to give him the self-confidence needed to make it on his own. But when Paula develops her own feelings for Tripp, the situation becomes more complicated and a scheme designed to make everyone happy quickly becomes disastrous.

McConaughey talks about the movie and why it differs from traditional movies of its genre in an interview below.

Q: (Matthew enters the room with an obvious tan) Where's all the sun from?

MATTHEW: Mexico .

Q: What have you been doing there?

MATTHEW: Relaxing. Tranquil. Cada dia.

Q: Do you get razzled now by your friends with People naming you Sexiest Man of the Year?

MATTHEW: Heard some good rhymes about it. My mom's real happy. I think it's kind of cool. It's a nice honor.

Q: You've been successful with the romantic comedy genre so are you a little bit more picky with what you select to do?

MATTHEW: Yeah. It's good because I have the option to be a little bit more that way. Sometimes, in a romantic comedy, the male is sometimes the foil – meaning do I pull to the left? Do I pull to the right? Which way do I go? I don't know what to do? I like it when you get someone like [Tripp] or someone like in “How to Lose a Guy…” who is not necessarily going “What do I do?” but is going, “No, no, I got this handled.” He goes in and doesn't handle the situation, but he always is moving forward. The comedy comes from a guy who thinks he has it handled but it's not what he thinks it is. I find it more comedic.

Q: “Failure to Launch” plays to the appeal of both guys and girls. Was that part of the reason why you singled it out to do?

MATTHEW: A good romantic comedy does have that battle of the sexes usually and comes out with that flip. You got a character here, whether he is or not, always perceives that he's moving forward. The foil doesn't move forward – it goes left, right, left, right. It's more fun and more true to me when you have a character that goes, “It's a good deal. Rent's paid. Mom cooks for me, folds my cloths. I got good friends, good family. What's not to like? Life's good.” His friends and family want him to move out so he can at least get to that spot where he makes his heart available, and to do something with someone else and give it a chance, which he has never done. At least there's always a forward moving and a choice he's going with it. I want that kind of traction in a film.

Q: Well what about you? You left home right after high school – were you an independent child? Was this part of a master plan?

MATTHEW: I went to Australia for a year because I didn't know what the hell I wanted to do, as most 18 year olds when you graduate and you're off to college. I knew I wanted to go to school but didn't know what I wanted to study. I didn't know what I wanted to be. But I knew I liked to travel and adventure. I packed up a duffel bag and went to Australia for a year and that was a wild adventure. I can honestly say that I wouldn't be here doing what I love to do if I didn't take that year where I had some real life questions and had no crutch around me. I didn't have mom and dad, didn't have friends, didn't have a car, didn't have a phone, didn't have all the things that I relied on that made life easier. That was a great year for me at a time when you're usually asking life questions. What the hell is this about? What am I doing here? What am I supposed to do? What do I want to do? I think the best place to find those things are in a place when you are all alone.

Q: The studios would probably love it if you did this for the rest of your career. How do you balance your career with the many genres that you're interested in?

MATTHEW: Well this is certainly acting too. It's just another game.

I'll say this: My box-office success with romantic comedies have definitely allowed me more opportunities and options in other types of films. There are films that I am trying to get made now that I think will get made that are not necessarily romantic comedies. I know I wouldn't have a chance of getting [them] made without the success of these. Absolutely.

I can do something like “Two for the Money” and it makes whatever it makes. If it makes $100 million, then I'm right there getting offers from dramas and stuff. It didn't. I'm proud of the movie and I like what I did, my performance in the film and everything. It got me a little bit more on that radar. Coming off of “How to Lose a Guy…”, that was one of my most successful films. Not only did a lot of good for me, but it made a lot of studios a lot of money too. They make these things for cheap. They're only $35 [million in budget]. I say only $35 but that's relatively cheap. With “ Sahara ,” it cost $100 million. It made back $70 million. If “The Wedding Planner” made $70 million, then you're dancing in the streets. You make $70 million with “ Sahara ,” you break even but you're not dancing in the streets.

The other thing is I like doing these. I've learned to like doing them. I try to keep them comedic and that's the challenge of it – keeping it light and buoyant. That's the game of these things.

Q: So do you end up saying “no” to a lot of these types of roles?

MATTHEW: Yes. Fortunately I've been able to say “no” to a lot of them because I'll say, “I'm not your guy for this.” That's not my brand of comedy for these things. Or I look at it from a business standpoint. I'll say, “This might be good for a certain demographic but I don't think it has a universal application. It wouldn't be that accessible.” Sometimes you know, sometimes you don't.

Q: You're more popular than ever in your career. Was it a matter of just hanging in there?

MATTHEW: In a way. Part of me stayed in the game but I never felt like I was not in the game. Career in this business is many highs and lows. It goes and has rhythms. Momentum swings. When thought of doing your best or your most hot as a commodity, to think that that's going to be that way forever is – I don't want to say foolish, but maintaining that is harder than getting to that point. To think that there's a nailed-down science to it? No. A lot of it is staying in the game.

"Failure to Launch" opens in theaters this Friday.