Actor Matthew McConaughey says he is considering a return to romantic comedies despite his recent success in more serious roles.

The Oscar-winner appeared in a string of rom-coms in the previous decade including The Wedding Planner and How to Lose a Guy In 10 Days that received mixed reviews.

But he won critical acclaim for his performance in the drama Dallas Buyers Club, for which he won the Academy Award for best actor in 2014, and for his starring role in Christopher Nolan’s sci-fi blockbuster Interstellar.

Moreover, McConaughey, who plays American Civil  War fighter Newton Knight  in the new film Free State of  Jones, described his earlier romantic comedy roles as “Saturday characters”.

I’m looking for some comedy right now

He told the Press Association: “Obviously Free State of Jones isn’t a Saturday character. It’s a Monday morning, go to work character.

“But I’m open to that in the future. I’m looking for some comedy right now.”

McConaughey, 46, said he was initially reluctant to star in a civil war film but the film’s theme of racial inequality remained relevant today.

He said: “Other films that have been set in the Civil  War I’ve seen, I didn’t love them, they didn’t stick with me. I didn’t find current relevance in them.

“This one came along and I told the director: ‘It’s not a time in American history I’m really turned on by, but let me have a look’.

“I read it and I was  completely entertained by  the script.”

He added: “There are a  lot of issues in this story that are front and centre today.  No doubt.”

Free State of Jones is released in UK cinemas on Friday.