“That was a very strange one,” the actor tells PEOPLE of the memorable fan encounter more than a decade ago.

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Josh Lucas doesn’t usually say no to a fan, but there’s an important caveat to that rule.

The actor, 52, finds people frequently want to “say hello” to him when he’s out and about, and “99.9% of the time people are nothing but lovely,” he tells PEOPLE in this week’s issue.

There was one time, though, “a good 15 years ago,” where someone was particularly not lovely, as they mistook him for Matthew McConaughey — and wouldn’t take no for an answer when asking for an autograph.

“The weirdest story I have is, I once almost got into a fight with a guy because I refused to sign his autograph because he was basically telling me, ‘Hey, Matthew McConaughey, I need you to sign this autograph,’” the Sweet Home Alabama star recalls. “I was like, ‘I’m not Matthew McConaughey.’”

The fan kept insisting, and despite his continued protests, Lucas says he was basically told, “‘You’re an a–hole, McConaughey.’ ”

“It got weirder and weirder. The guy literally started yelling at me on the street, but he was yelling at McConaughey,” he continues. “That was a very strange one.”

Looking back, Lucas admits he “should have just signed the autograph,” before pivoting: “I actually should have just said something ridiculously stupid.”

He adds of the encounter, “It was a very weird moment in my life.”

Josh Lucas Jokes He Almost Got Into a Fight with a Fan Over Being Mistaken for Matthew McConaughey

Josh Lucas at the Moet & Chandon 270th Anniversary in 2013; Matthew McConaughey at the Paris ‘Interstellar’ premiere in 2014. LAURA CAVANAUGH/FILMMAGIC; MARC PIASECKI/GETTY


The actor, who stars alongside Carol Burnett and Kristen Wiig in the new Apple TV+ drama Palm Royale, sat down with the magazine for One Last Thing:

Last guilty pleasure
Last night at dinner, I had a Grey Goose martini with blue cheese olives. I try and limit it these days to maybe once or twice a week. That’s definitely my go-to indulgence.

Last perfect day off
I’m building a small farm [in Ventura, Calif.], and any day out there is pretty magical. The best are when I come back and my kid [Noah] is there and we watch a movie. It’s my favorite day.

Kristen Wiig & Josh Lucas in Pal Royale

Kristen Wiig & Josh Lucas in ‘Palm Royale’. ERICA PARISE/APPLE TV+
Last time I was in awe
Because of the fires in California, the piece of property I bought that was burned has turned iridescent, almost fluorescent green with moss and all this life. It is so crazy, strikingly beautiful.

Last time my son made me laugh
We’ve been watching The Dynasty, and the other day he stood up and gave me a hug. I was like, “Did you just give me a hug? Why?” And he goes, “I just wanted to.” We both started laughing, and I was like, “Are you feeling warm and excited by Tom Brady?”