Oscar-winning actor Matthew McConaughy told UPI that working on his survival drama, "The Lost Bus," strengthened his respect for and understanding of nature.

America Ferrera and Matthew McConaughey star in "The Lost Bus," opening in theaters Friday. Photo courtesy of Apple UPI Left to right, Matthew McConaughey, America Ferrera and director Paul Greengrass attend the world premiere of "The Lost Bus" during the Toronto International Film Festival at the Princess of Wales Theatre on Sept. 5. Photo by Chris Chew/UPI UPI Left to right, Matthew McConaughey, his wife Camila Alves, his mother Kay McConaughey and his son Levi attend the world premiere of "The Lost Bus" during the Toronto International Film Festival at the Princess of Wales Theatre on Sept. 5. Photo by Chris Chew/UPI UPI America Ferrara attends the world premiere of "The Lost Bus" during the Toronto International Film Festival at the Princess of Wales Theatre on Sept. 5. File Photo by Chris Chew/UPI UPI Jamie Lee Curtis attends the world premiere of "The Lost Bus" during the Toronto International Film Festival at the Princess of Wales Theatre on Sept. 5. File Photo by Chris Chew/UPI UPI

NEW YORK, Sept. 19 (UPI) -- Oscar-winning actor Matthew McConaughy says working on his survival drama, The Lost Bus, strengthened his respect for and understanding of nature.

"It's a delicate balance as civilization takes over Mother Nature in the wild. It's a delicate balance and we overcompensate sometimes where it throws it out of balance and, usually, Mother Nature, through some way, some form, will let us know, 'I've got to move the needle back and get it back in balance,'" McConaughey, 55, told UPI in a recent Zoom interview with reporters.

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"This film [shows] that relationship that mankind has with civilization, has with Mother Nature, is thrown out of whack in dangerous ways."

Directed by Paul Greengrass and opening in theaters Friday, the fact-based film follows school bus driver Kevin (McConaughey) and teacher Mary (America Ferrera) as they save 22 children from California's deadly Camp wildfire in 2018.

Yul Vazquez, Ashlie Atkinson, Spencer Watson, Levi McConaughey and Kay McConaughey also star in the movie.

Although real fire was used in the film, McConaughey emphasized that the cast and crew rehearsed thoroughly so no one would get injured.

"The good thing about working with fire is, to stay away from it and not get literally burned, is a natural instinct," McConaughey said.

"You feel the heat. Your body tells you, 'Whoa, I've gotten too close,'" he added. "Was it a dangerous set? Sure, but it was really well-choreographed and there are a lot of real pros who put this together, from the pyrotechnic people to Paul leading the charge."

McConaughey said that when the film's producers Jamie Lee Curtis and Jason Blum began working with screenwriters Greengrass and Ingelsby, they knew they'd have to take some dramatic license to cinematically tell the story.

"This situation that two people were in, with that amount of children at those ages, that all happened," McConaughey said, noting they set out to make a drama, not a biography.

"Listening to Kevin, who I talked to, about where he was mentally and making decisions on that eight hours, finally getting out, we stuck pretty close to that timeline," he added. "This is every single bit true. It was the spirit of it based on true events and little things dramatized here and there for, I think, maybe a more rich, personal story along the way."

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Reflecting on a career that has seen him star in dozens of projects from the slacker comedy Dazed & Confused to his Oscar-winning performance in The Dallas Buyers Club to his excellent first season of HBO's anthology series True Detective, McConaughey said he has learned to love the craft of acting.

"I liked what i was doing at the beginning when I first started, but i didn't actually know what I was doing," McConaughey said.

"I had instincts when I first started 30-whatever years ago. Then, after about eight years, I started to learn the craft of acting, learn what it was that I had instincts for," he added. "When I did that, I started to learn how to love it. I started to learn what to do if I got in trouble, if I got in a funk, if I was stuck, if I was tight and, then, I learned how to break down characters. ... I'm still learning how to do that, but I've got a good basis now."