Celebrity Matthew McConaughey Shocks Fans with His Swollen Eye: 'Bee Swell' Matthew McConaughey shared a selfie to Instagram showing his right eye completely swollen shut — and he appeared to blame the injury on an incident with a bee By Tommy McArdle Tommy McArdle Tommy McArdle is an editorial assistant on the Movies team at PEOPLE. Tommy joined PEOPLE in 2022. People Editorial Guidelines Published on July 10, 2024 04:12PM EDT Matthew McConaughey via his Instagram on July 10, 2024. Matthew McConaughey looks like he's feeling it after an apparent run-in with a bee. On Wednesday, July 10, McConaughey, 54, shared a close-up photo of himself to Instagram showing his right eye completely swollen shut. While the actor did not specify exactly what happened to him, he hinted at an unfortunate incident with a bee with a punny caption: "bee swell." Despite the alarming eye injury, McConaughey appeared otherwise in good spirits in the photo and held a grin for the camera. Matthew McConaughey and Camila McConaughey Kick Off Summer by Grilling Without Any Pants on Aside from McConaughey's apparent bee incident, the actor has been busy as of late: he and his wife Camila Alves McConaughey shared birthday wishes to their eldest son Levi on Sunday, July 7, by sharing a montage of photos of the 16-year-old with his parents and a voiceover message. "Alright Levi, coming on that age, buddy. About to be out on your own," the Interstellar star said in part during his voice over. "Me and your mom hope we've done as good of a job as we can. You're not gonna really have us as a safety net out there in the wonderful, wild world forever." Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Matthew and Camila also share two younger kids: daughter Vida, 14, and son Livingston, 11. In June, McConaughey admitted during a conversation with fellow Texas native Glen Powell for Interview magazine that he once took a two-years long break from working in Hollywood after he felt he was struggling to book movie roles outside of the romantic comedy genre, where he made early 2000s classics like 2003's How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days. Matthew McConaughey Celebrates 12th Wedding Anniversary with Wife Camila by Sharing Sweet PDA Photo Matthew McConaughey on Sept. 12, 2023. John Nacion/Getty "Dude, it was scary. I had long talks with my wife about needing to find a new vocation," he shared of the hiatus, recalling that he told his wife at various points during this time that he was considering teaching high school, studying to conduct music or working as a "wildlife guide." "It was scary. The days are long — the sense of insignificance," McConaughey added at the time. "But I made up my mind that that’s what I needed to do, so I wasn’t going to pull the parachute and quit the mission I was on. But it was scary, because I didn’t know if I was ever going to get out of the desert." The Oscar-winning actor last appeared on the big screen when he reprised his voice role as Buster Moon in 2021's animated Sing 2; he most recently appeared in Zach Bryan's music video for his song "Nine Ball."