With Fool's Gold about to hit theaters on February 8 to set the proper cinematic tone for Valentine's Day, we were on hand for the film's press conference in Santa Monica where Kate Hudson and soon-to-be-father Matthew McConaughey swapped stories about tropical diving, the magic of their chemistry, their relationship in the movie, and the strangest place where they've been recognized by fans.

Hudson and McConaughey on their stunt work in Fool's Gold:

HUDSON: I held my breath, in one take, for 45 seconds because I had to go down and wrap the rope around, which when you see it, you’re like, ‘God, they make it look so easy.’ But in fact, you’re going...

MCCONAUGHEY: Yeah, it’s onscreen for five seconds.

HUDSON: That was a real - I was really proud of myself for that stunt because I had been doing lung exercises to be able to get myself however far I needed to get to. And then... it was wild. The thing about working in water, period, is that it’s so sensitive. You really have to be very careful, and everybody has to be very on - it’s very serious. So there’s not really much goofing around when you're working underwater.

MCCONAUGHEY: And Kate came a long way. From the day you went out to get certified until the end, you came a long way with your comfort with the diving stuff and just being in the natural water.

HUDSON: Oh, I was terrified. I was so scared. I would sit on the edge of the boat and I’d be like, ‘I don’t know why I’m doing this. I don’t know why I’m doing this. I don’t want to get in the water.’ And then I’d look down and I’d see a three-and-a-half-foot angelfish and I’m like, ‘I’m not supposed to know about this. I don’t care about it. I don’t want to know.’ And then the second I got underwater it was like, ‘Oh, wait a minute. I want to know about all of this stuff.’

McConaughey on the most beautiful dive he's ever been on:

"While I was there in Australia, I went over to Papua, New Guinea, and dove and visited a lot of -- did some wreck dives with some World War II planes and stuff. That was one of the cooler dives I’ve done, about 35, 40 meters. That was really cool. You’d either have a nature dive or a wreck dive. And I’ve done nature dives, but that wreck dive was really pretty special... There are planes, there are Japanese planes down there. And you can still see the full-on red dot. It’s crystal clear, as if it was painted yesterday. But I was taken to spots where we knew we were going to go see some things, or hopefully, and we had good, clear water. So the visual was good."

Hudson and McConaughey on whether their chemistry happens naturally:

MCCONAUGHEY: I think so. I think that’s just something that is good with Kate and I.

HUDSON: I think it just kind of happened when we - the first meeting we ever had before we [made a movie together], like when we were going to shoot How To Lose A Guy, I think everybody in the room was like, "Oh, this is going to be really fun and easy," because we just got along really well.

MCCONAUGHEY: And we surprised each other on the screen. And I think one of the things that’s cool with Kate and I is that if one of us does surprise the other, the other one doesn’t pop up and yell, "Cut!" You kind of roll with it.

On their relationship in the movie:

MCCONAUGHEY: She didn’t want to hang out with me, but I still didn’t understand that, but I was going to get the gold. And I was going to get my girl, and I loved them both. And I was going to work it out with my wife and get the gold. She got a little sidetracked for a while, but I was on it.

HUDSON: For me, it was real similar to how I feel about Matthew in real life, which is sometimes I can’t stand him because I love him so much. You know what I mean? It drives me crazy. I love you so much, and you drive me crazy [laughs]. So it came [down to] those feelings of him off doing his thing and being all crazy and me going, "How do I reel him in and keep him here and focused?"

Finding "Fool's Gold" with Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey Page 2