Pascal ultimately landed the role of Joel Miller, earning two Emmy nominations for his performance in the HBO series

NEED TO KNOW

• Matthew McConaughey reveals he turned down the role of Joel Miller in The Last of Us
• “It just wasn’t for me, at the time,” the actor said while on the Happy Sad Confused podcast on Aug. 13
• Pedro Pascal took on the role and went on to earn two Emmy nominations for his portrayal of Joel

In another world, Matthew McConaughey could have been Joel Miller in The Last of Us. 

During his appearance on the Thursday, Aug. 13 episode of the Happy Sad Confused podcast, hosted by Joshua Horowitz, the True Detective actor revealed that he turned down the lead role before it went to Pedro Pascal. 

Though he said he seriously considered the role, McConaughey explained that he received the script at a time when he “wasn’t really acting.” “I think that’s part of when I was doing more writing and looking at leadership roles in life and stuff,” he explained, before adding that the script “was really good, [I was] really excited.” 

“I’m not a huge TV watcher, but we pulled off a real coup with True [Detective] at a time when series were not something that actors like myself [or] Woody Harrelson would hop over and go do. And that one succeeded in a real royal fashion,” McConaughey noted. “The Last of Us was really good. It just wasn’t for me, at the time.”

He continued, “I don’t know what would have been for me at the time.”

McConaughey shared earlier in the episode that when he’s writing, he puts everything else aside for “three weeks” to solely focus on writing. He noted that if he’s working on a project at the time a script is handed to him, “if I’ve got certain stuff going on in my life, I know that I’m not going to give that script justice.”

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The Last of Us showrunner Craig Mazin appeared on Happy Sad Confused back in 2023 and explained that though he spoke to the Interstellar star about the role of Joel, it wasn’t a “serious” conversation.

“It was more like a ‘Hey, here’s something to talk about,’” he explained. “Initially, Pedro was on our list from the start. We were told that 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.’”

When Mazin sent the script to Pascal, the actor was in England filming a movie, so Mazin said he didn’t expect to hear from him anytime soon. “Normally, when you send scripts to actors, you’re lucky if you get a reading within a month,” he said. “So I thought, between the movie and the time change, this will be forever.”

“I sent it on Friday. Saturday morning, I get a call,” Mazin continued. “He loves it. He wants to get on a Zoom. I mean, that was a pretty good sign. We got on the Zoom and had what I think is maybe the most wonderful Zoom I’ve ever had. I mean, just love at first sight.” 

“I’m sure there’s an alternate universe where it’s different, and look, Matthew McConaughey is an amazing actor. I’m sure it would have been great,” he added. “But it would have been different, and I like the one that we made. So what can I say? I think it worked out.” 

The HBO series, based on the 2013 action-adventure video game, premiered in 2023 and has earned 40 Emmy nominations, winning nine. Pascal has been nominated twice for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for his portrayal of Joel, a grieving father fighting to survive in a post-apocalyptic world. 

The Last of Us is available to stream on HBO, with its third season slated to premiere in 2027.

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