Matthew McConaughey has done a little bit of everything, with his best movies being both dramatic and comedic. He's one of the best and most bankable stars in the business, and he has so many massive projects under his belt. However, it turns out he could've been in another massive HBO project after True Detective, The Last of Us. The showrunner of the popular series recently revealed that McConaughey was eyed to play Joel on the series, and I'm not exactly "alright, alright, alright."
During a recent interview on the Happy, Sad, Confused podcast, The Last of Us producer Craig Mazin confirmed that Pedro Pascal wasn’t the only high-profile actor in consideration for the role of Joel Miller, one of the protagonists in post-apocalyptic video game adaptation. Though it sounds like things didn't get too serious with Matthew McConaughey, it would certainly appear that he was indeed in the mix early on:
I did talk to Matthew, I can’t say that it was a series [of talks]. It was more of like, ‘Hey! Here’s something to talk about.
The idea of the Oscar winner playing the role is interesting. He's proven his strength as a serious performer in the past through so many incredible dramatic roles in movies like Interstellar, Dallas Buyers Club and The Lincoln Lawyer. On the one hand, he definitely could've brought some serious gravitas to Joel, as he did in True Detective. However, one could also say that the roles mentioned above rely on his unique brand of charisma. Joel is a more grizzled character and one that that Pedro Pascal plays so perfectly. Maybe Pascal was just too good in the role that I can’t imagine anyone else playing the part. Critics would seem to agree, his performance and TLoU as a whole has been praised by critics.
While Matthew McConaughey was considered, Pedro Pascal remained in the running for a while. According to Craig Mazin, Pascal was their top choice, but the creative team was toying with other casting options. This is apparently because the actor had too many scheduling conflicts at one point. One would assume that his schedule cleared up because he ended up doing the project -- and giving a tour-de-force performance. With TLoU now in his filmography alongside The Mandalorian, Narcos and Game of Thrones, the 48-year-old has become one of our biggest TV stars.
As for Matthew McConaughey, while The Last of Us wasn’t meant to be, the actor has been able to pursue other projects. The Gold actor is rumored to be joining a Yellowstone spinoff series. Other offshoots of the Tyler Sheridan-created show -- like 1923 and 1883 -- have been incredibly successful, and I can totally see McConaughey in that world. Ultimately, I think audiences ended up with the best case scenario for both actors, though it's certainly interesting to ponder what McConaughey would've done with the role of Joel.
Those who haven’t yet should check out Pedro Pascal in The Last of Us, which is streamable now with a Max subscription. You can also watch Matthew McConaughey in True Detective, as it's also available on the streaming service. For more information on other upcoming projects heading to the small screen, make sure to consult our 2023 TV schedule.
