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Actor Matthew McConaughey is reportedly “making calls to influential people” as he weighs a bid to unseat Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R).

The Oscar-winning star, who previously said a run for Texas governor remained a “true consideration,” has been “quietly making calls to influential people in Texas political circles, including a deep-pocketed moderate Republican and energy CEO,” according to Politico, which added the Lone Star State native is gauging the political climate ahead of formally tossing his hat into the arena.

The True Detective and Wolf of Wall Street star pointed to the possibility of a run during an appearance on the Crime Stoppers of Houston podcast in March, although his hints- that he could take a more active political role in the future- expand far beyond that.

“Look, politics seems to be a broken business to me right now. And when politics redefines its purpose, I could be a hell of a lot more interested,” the Dallas Buyers Club star told Hugh Hewitt in November.

“The question is: Would he run as a Republican? A Democrat? Independent?” GOP strategist Karl Rove asked of a potential McConaughey run. “And where is he on the political scale? He says he has a funny phrase about being a hardcore centrist, but what party would he run under?”

The Interstellar star has not refrained from criticizing Gov. Abbott, particularly after the Republican governor lifted coronavirus restrictions in the state, including the statewide mask mandate.

“My reaction to that is, I was a little dumbfounded by the decision,” the Gentleman star said during a March appearance on CBS This Morning. “I understand ‘go back to work.’ What I did not understand was ‘pull the mask mandate…'”

A Dallas Morning News-University of Texas at Tyler poll released last month showed McConaughey having an edge over Abbott, 45 percent to 33 percent. Read more…