Matthew McConaughey and his wife Camila Alves (Reuters)
Matthew McConaughey and his wife Camila Alves (Reuters) Reuters

"Dallas Buyers Club" lead actor Matthew McConaughey is going home tonight with a huge smile in his face for winning his first every golden statue. The 44-year-old actor lost 40 pounds for his role in the movie and thanks for his epic performance he bagged the 86th Annual Academy Awards Best Actor for the Leading Role award.

Prior to the 2014 Oscars, McConaughey won the Best Actor spot in Golden Globes and Screen Actors Guild for his acclaimed performance as Ron Woodroof. The former People Magazine Sexiest Man Alive plays a hard-drinking, homophobic guy who is diagnosed with HIV in 1985 and sets out to find the cure for AIDS.

The actor is famous for his role in "Dazed and Confused," "A Time to Kill," "Contact," and "The Lincoln Lawyer" in 2011. His latest films include "Bernie" in 2011, "Magic Mike" and "Mud" in 2013.

McConaughey bested other actors for the Best Actor Award including "Wolf of Wall Street" Leonardo DiCaprio, "12 Years A Slave" Chiwetel Ejiofor and Christian Bale in "American Hustle."

The actor took the stage to accept the award and begin his speech with three that he needs each day: Something to look up to, something to look forward to, and someone to chase. Matthew revealed that the person he chases is himself as he wants to find out that guy will turn out to be.

He first gave his thanks to God, "because that's who I look up to. He's graced my life with opportunities that are out of my hand. He's shown me that it's a scientific fact that gratitude reciprocates."

And he also thanks his family, particularly his mom and his wife Camilla. "My mother demanded that we respect ourselves. To my wive Camila and my kids, you are the four people in my life that I want to make the most proud of me," says the Award Winning actor.

And lastly, he thanked himself in ten years: "I'm never gonna be my hero, that keeps me with somebody to keep on chasing."