Matthew McConaughey says his mother is a "mess" when it comes to his popularity.

The actor said when he first found fame, it was difficult for him to keep his eager mother, Kay, 87, tight-lipped about his personal life.

"She's a mess, man. When I first became famous she would show up at my interviews. It wasn't about me, it was about her.

"I would say, 'Please Mom - I'm trying to navigate this newfound celebrity and being in the public eye, so just watch the loose lips. Just let me be the lead voice for now...'" McConaughey told the Telegraph magazine.

The 49-year-old actor said all efforts went out of the window when a friend told him to watch an American tabloid show "Hard Copy" on which Kay was showing a reporter around their home, including the place "where Matthew slept with his first girlfriend".

His older brother Rooster said while he admired his sibling trying to get their mother to keep mum, no one else had ever succeeded before.

McConaughey added, "Rooster said, 'Buddy, you put up a valiant effort trying to curb our mother. I been around a lot longer than you, and I tried, and I saw Dad try and you ain't changing her...'"

But over the years, the actor said he has giving in.

"So now I've said, 'You know what Mom? Free rein. Go for it'," he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)