He’s an Oscar winner now, but Matthew McConaughey‘s good fortunes in Hollywood may just be owed to a random fortune-teller.

Vanity Fair recently published an oral history of one of McConaughey’s earliest hits, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, in celebration of its upcoming 20th anniversary, and in the story, he explains what led him to the film.

“I remember considering whether I was going to do it or not one night while on a walk down Sunset Boulevard,” McConaughey recalls. “Suddenly, this guy comes up out of nowhere to me — he was a fortune-teller guru [and] goes, ‘Can I tell you your fortune real quick?'”

The star agreed. “‘He immediately goes, ‘There’s a movie you’re considering right now. It’s a romantic comedy. You have to do this or it will be one of the biggest regrets of your life. It is going to be a blast, it is going to be an incredible experience and it is going to make a bunch of money.'”

McConaughey admits he “laughed at the thought” the studio may have hired the guy just to sway the actor’s opinion. At any rate, it worked. “I think I even accepted the offer the next day,” McConaughey says.

Notwithstanding the street soothsayer’s encounter, McConaughey’s eventual co-star, Kate Hudson, pushed behind the scenes for him to get the role of her love interest, Benjamin Barry. The Almost Famous alumna recalls, “Matthew came up in a meeting and I thought that was a great idea. I loved his energy. We immediately just got along.”

The rest, as they say, is history: How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days earned more than $177 million at the box office worldwide.

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