It might have seemed that Pedro Pascal was the perfect candidate for Joel, yet plans were initially a little different.
“The Last of US” on HBO Max was definitely a hit this spring. Bella Ramsey as Ellie and Pedro Pascal as Joel did a great job playing such challenging characters from one of the world’s most popular games, and people loved their performance in the series.
Interestingly, however, a few months later we learn that someone completely different was to be in Pedro Pascal’s place. The creators revealed that discussions about the role of Joel were held with another actor before they decided on Pascal.
Who was supposed to play Joel in TLOU?
During a recent podcast at Happy Sad Confused on Youtube, Craig Mazin, who is the showrunner of “The Last of Us” on HBO Max, revealed some interesting facts about the series. Among other things, we were able to learn that initially, the role of Joel was to be given to someone else entirely, namely Matthew McConaughey, a star known for such blockbusters as “Interstellar” and “Detective.”
And although actor Pedro Pascal had been on the list of potential actors for the role of Joel from the very beginning, the directors were initially told that the actor had no time for future productions. That’s why Mazin decided to talk to McConaughey.
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.’
Initially, Pedro was on our list from the start, but we were told that he was unavailable. 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.
Craig Mazin admits that while Matthew McConaughey is a great actor, The Last of US with him in the lead role would have been very different. Fans, however, are quite divided – some think that while Pedro Pascal did a great job, they would have preferred McConaughey as Joel. Others, meanwhile, say there was no better choice than the former.