Actor Matthew McConaughey has shared one of the most unusual and deeply personal stories about his late father, James “Big Jim” McConaughey, who passed away in 1992 in Houston, Texas.

In his bestselling memoir Greenlights, the Oscar-winning actor recalled that his father always joked he would “go out while making love” — and that’s exactly how it happened. Matthew was just starting his breakout role in Dazed and Confused when his mother, Mary Kathleen (“Kay”), called to tell him the news.

James suffered a heart attack during intimacy with his wife. Despite the shock, Kay later shared that her husband had “gone out exactly how he wanted.” When paramedics arrived, she even refused to let them cover him, proudly saying, “Let the world see why they called him Big Jim.”

McConaughey describes his parents’ relationship as fiery but full of love — married three times and divorced twice, yet always drawn back together. Reflecting on his father’s passing, he said it perfectly fit the man’s larger-than-life personality.

Kay later confirmed on Red Table Talk that she saw his death as a “celebration of life,” saying, “He went out doing what he loved.”