Matthew McConaughey almost played joel in ‘The Last of Us’ TV series, Pedro Pascal secured the part later

During a latest episode of the Happy Sad Confused podcast, showrunner Craig Mazin shared an intriguing revelation in regards to the casting course of for HBO’s adaptation of The Last of Us.

It seems that Matthew McConaughey was initially thought of for the main function of Joel Miller earlier than Pedro Pascal finally landed the half.

Mazin defined, “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.'” However, Pascal was at all times a best choice for the function.

Mazin revealed that though they had been initially knowledgeable that Pascal was unavailable, they acquired a pleasing shock when his agent later knowledgeable them that, “You know, he actually might be available.”

The Last of Us sequence relies on the critically acclaimed online game of the identical identify, launched in 2013.

The present follows the journey of two post-apocalyptic survivors, Joel (performed by Pascal) and Ellie (portrayed by Bella Ramsey), as they navigate a post-apocalyptic world ravaged by a fungal outbreak.

Since its debut in January 2023, the sequence has garnered each vital acclaim and industrial success. Alongside Pascal and Ramsey, the solid consists of gifted actors corresponding to Nick Offerman, Murray Bartlett, Gabriel Luna, Merle Dandridge, Nico Parker, Jeffrey Pierce, and Anna Torv.

In a pleasant anecdote shared throughout an look on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Pascal revealed that he initially forgot about touchdown the lead function in The Last of Us. Due to taking an Ambien earlier than present creator Neil Druckmann known as with the news, Pascal jokingly talked about, “I woke up in the morning and the first thing that occurred to me was like, ‘Oh man, I really want that job.'”

While McConaughey did not find yourself portraying Joel in The Last of Us, ViacomCBS President Chris McCarthy confirmed that the acclaimed actor will star in a by-product of the favored Paramount+ sequence, Yellowstone. McCarthy revealed the news in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, following the departure of unique present lead Kevin Costner.

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Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan expressed his pleasure about McConaughey’s involvement, describing him as “a natural fit” for the fashionable western TV universe.

Sheridan shared, “We had a few conversations over the years, and spitballed a few ideas… 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.”