Matthew McConaughey looking to progress into more edgy roles.

Matthew McConaughey is done with romantic comedies.

The actor is famous for appearing shirtless as a romantic lead in a string of films including 'How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days' and 'Failure to Launch', but he is ready for more edgy roles, such as playing a ruthless hitman in 'Killer Joe'.

He told Shortlist magazine: ''It's another chapter for sure. I did have to say no to a lot of romantic comedies. I think Hollywood got a little bit like, 'OK, he seriously doesn't want to do any more of these right now.'

''And however the world works, something happened and the message got out.''

The 42-year-old star - who is married to Brazilian model Camila Alves, with whom he has two children, son Levi and daughter Vida - knew 'Killer Joe' was the right role for him to refresh his career after he felt sick when first reading the script.

He added: ''The first time I read 'Killer Joe' I thought, 'I don't want anything to do with this. I feel sick to my stomach and I need to take a shower.'

''I went back and read it again and suddenly it clicked. Oh, 'this is a riot man. It was exactly what it was looking for. I was like, yeah, this acting thing, it's a rodeo. All right, let's go ride the bull. Let's go shake some s**t up!''

'Killer Joe' is in cinemas at the end of this month.

© Bang Showbiz