Although Cormac McCarthy is one of America’s most famous authors, he has maintained a private persona. 

An elusive interview subject, he is known to have given very few throughout his career. But new research has uncovered a handful from decades ago, including one he gave while living in Tucson. 

The 89-year-old McCarthy is known for books such as “No Country for Old Men'' and “The Road.” But he has established a reputation of shying away from interviews.

In his most notable national interview, with Oprah Winfrey, he said he didn’t think they were good for his head.

But while living in Tucson in 1980, the author spoke to the Lexington Herald-Leader. The interview was facilitated by friends he made there, according to the research. 

He spoke about an attempt to write a film adaptation of William Faulkner’s "As I Lay Dying." It failed to get enough money to be produced.

The decades-old interviews were highlighted in a scholarly journal about the author’s work, the Cormac McCarthy Journal.