Yahoo News 'The Last of Us' Showrunner Reveals Matthew McConaughey Was Tapped to Play Joel Before Pedro Pascal
Prior to casting Pedro Pascal in the HBO series, showrunner Craig Mazin was told he "was unavailable" to play Joel Miller
Emma McIntyre/Getty; Liane Hentscher/HBO
Though Pedro Pascal ended up being perfectly cast as Joel Miller in The Last of Us, it turns out HBO had another actor in consideration.
During an appearance on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, showrunner Craig Mazin revealed that Matthew McConaughey was initially in talks to play the leading role in The Last of Us.
"I did talk to Matthew. I can't say that it was a series [of conversations]. It was more of a, 'Hey, here's something to talk about,'" explained Mazin, who oversaw the series beside fellow showrunner and video game creator, Neil Druckmann.
"Pedro was on our list from the start," he added of Pascal, 48. "We were told he was unavailable, and then as we were floundering about a little bit, I got a call from his agent who said, 'You know, he actually might be available.'"
The Last of Us is inspired by the video game of the same name, which was released in 2013. The show follows two apocalypse survivors — Joel (Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) — an unlikely duo who work together to survive a fungal outbreak that has taken the lives (and consciousness) of most of humanity.
The series — which also stars Nick Offerman, Murray Bartlett, Gabriel Luna, Merle Dandridge, Nico Parker, Jeffrey Pierce, and Anna Torv — has been met with wide critical and commercial success since its debut in January 2023.
While appearing on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon in February, Pascal revealed he had forgotten he had landed the lead role in the post apocalyptic sci-fi series after taking an Ambien before Druckmann called to give him the news.
"I get a call that I got the job after I took the Ambien, and so I was excited I guess, but I didn't remember," the actor recalled. "I woke up in the morning and the first thing that occurred to me was like, 'Oh man, I really want that job.'"
Although McConaughey never ended up playing the role of Joel, ViacomCBS President Chris McCarthy confirmed that the 53-year-old actor will be starring in a spinoff of the Paramount+ series, Yellowstone, in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter after original show lead Kevin Costner’s exit.
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Taylor Sheridan, the creator of Yellowstone, described McConaughey as "a natural fit" for the modern western TV universe in a separate interview with the publication.
"We had a few conversations over the years, and spitballed a few ideas," Sheridan shared. "Then he started watching 'Yellowstone' and responded to it. He was like, I want to do that. And by that he meant diving into a raw world clashing up against the modern world. And then I said, Buddy, that we can do."
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