Family life grounds Matthew McConaughey

Actor Matthew McConaughey arrives for the New York Film Critics Circle awards in New York, January 7, 2013. [Photo/Agencies] More photos, here

Actor Matthew McConaughey credits his growing family for the success that 2012 brought him.

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"One, they ground you. Two, when you have that kind of structure at home and you feel stable at home it makes it much easier to fly higher and wider when you're outside of home," McConaughey said Monday at the New York Film Critics Circle Awards.

The 43-year-old received the best supporting actor honor for "Magic Mike" and "Bernie". He garnered critical success in 2012 for "Mud" and "The Paperboy," both shown in competition at the Cannes Film Festival.

"Got a great family that loves what I do, they're happy for papa when papa is happy. Papa is happy when he's working, and they like it when papa goes to work," he said of his busy year.

"Things that I've been working on came to fruition personally, workwise, healthwise. And we just decided to embrace it all — myself, my family — decided to embrace it all," he said. "Even when it was work that I was doing that my family wasn't necessarily doing. My family was pushing me to go, 'Go get it on. Do it. We're right behind you. We got it.'"

McConaughey married long-time girlfriend Camila Alves in June. He announced last month on his Whosay page that Alves had given birth to their third child, Livingston, on Dec 28.

"Livingston had a lot to say this morning," he joked. "He had a mouthful of milk. That's what he had."

McConaughey said his older children, 4-year-old son, Levi, and 3-year-old daughter, Vida, were excited about the NYFCC award, but even more excited about his return home in Texas.

"They're like, 'Get the trophy and come back home,'" he said. "I said, 'I'm coming back home.'"

Photos: Stars attend New York Film Critics Circle awards