Matthew McConaughey has proved himself as an actor and the master of career turnarounds, but the role he's really relishing is that of dad.

He may once have been the king of romantic movies but it took a while to get down the aisle and marry his own real-life sweetheart, Camila Alves, but he got there in the end and hasn't looked back.

They have been happily married for two years now and have three children together, Livingston, 2, Vida, 4, and Levi, 6.

The Oscar-winner admits in an interview with GQ that he didn't get married until he saw it as "more than just the thing to do".

"I wanted to really want to. You know, I didn't want it to be a destination; the fun is that we're on the adventure together," he told the magazine.

And while he's enjoying that adventure, it's becoming a father to his three kids that seems to have truly fulfilled him in life.

"Never is a man more of a man than when he is the father of a newborn," he said, adding that fatherhood has made him instinctively know what's important and has made him "more compassionate".

"It's the one thing I've always wanted to be. I knew when I was 8 years old. I mean, I wanted to be things like the Washington Redskins running back and all that stuff, but the one thing I knew I wanted to be was a father," he said.

But the other way it's hugely impacted his life is in returning to church. He told the magazine he attends a non-denominational church in Texas.

"It's based in the faith that Jesus is the son of God, that he died for our sins, but many different denominations come in," he explained.

When the family are in New Orleans, they like to stop by the Sunlight Baptist church, which he said has a "whole different rhythm and way of speaking" from the "white-collar prayers I grew up with".

"I'm talking about the Wave Maker! The Prime Mooovah!" he said.

He also spoke about how the turning point for him in going back to church was having his children.

"As soon as we had children, I was like, 'You know what? That was important to my childhood.' Even if it was just for the ritual of giving an hour and a half on Sunday to yourself, to pray and to think about others, even if you're tired or whatever. I noticed how much I missed it and needed it.

"It's a time for me to take inventory of my last week, to look at what's in the future and say my thank-you's and think about what I can work on to do better."

Speaking about the person of God, McConaughey said he related to him as someone who could answer his questions and "who has a hand in all of this miracle we call life, which I believe is a miracle".

Asked whether he believed in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, he paused for a moment before replying: "Well, it's a heaven of a story, ain't it?"