The Last of Us: Matthew McConaughey nearly played Joel
Aviron PicturesPedro Pascal was the perfect Joel Miller in HBO’s The Last of Us series – but the iconic video game character was nearly played by another screen titan: Matthew McConaughey.
We’re still on the comedown from The Last of Us earlier this year. Every episode was incredible, thanks to the loyal, immaculate vision of Neil Druckmann and Craig Mazin, and year-defining performances from Pascal and Bella Ramsey as Joel and Ellie.
Given the immense popularity of the game, the show’s casting invited a lot of speculation. Several actors were included in fan casts, such as Hugh Jackman and Kaitlyn Dever, and Mahershala Ali was reported to be in the running for the role.
Well, according to Mazin, he never met with the latter Oscar-winner – but he did talk to Matthew McConaughey about playing Joel.
Matthew McConaughey nearly played Joel in The Last of Us
During an appearance on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Mazin revealed he’d spoken to the True Detective star about taking on the character – albeit, it never seemed like those talks were leading to it actually happening.
“I actually never talked to Mahershala. I did talk to Matthew. I wouldn’t say that it was serious, it was more of just like, ‘Hey, here’s something we can talk about.’”
Any chances of McConaughey playing Joel – or anyone else, for that matter – were scuppered with Pascal and Mazin’s first meeting. “Initially, Pedro was on our list from the start, but we were told that he was unavailable,” Mazin revealed.
“And then, as we were kinda floundering around a little bit, I got a call from his agent who said, ‘You know, he actually might be available.’ We got on a Zoom and had what I think is the most wonderful Zoom I’ve ever had. Just love at first sight.”
This isn’t any slight against McConaughey, though. “I’m sure there’s a different universe where it’s another actor,” he added.
“And look, Matthew McConaughey is an amazing actor. I’m sure it would have been great, but it would have been different. And I like the one that we made so what can I say?”
Besides, McConaughey has his sights set on another TV horizon: a brand-new Yellowstone spinoff, with the star expected to replace Kevin Costner as the A-list lead of the Western franchise.
You can find out more about The Last of Us Season 2 here and check out the rest of our coverage here.