Matthew McConaughey Explains Why He Turned Down Pedro Pascal’s Role in ‘The Last of Us’

The Last of Us could have looked very different!

While appearing on the Thursday (August 13) episode of Josh Horowitz’s Happy Sad Confused podcast, Matthew McConaughey revealed that he was considered for the role of Joel Miller on the Emmy-nominated HBO series, but turned it down, admitting that “it wasn’t for me at the time.”

“I wasn’t really acting at that point,” the 56-year-old Oscar-winning actor explained. “That was when I was doing more writing and looking at leadership roles in life. It was really good. I was excited.”

Pedro Pascal ended up being cast as Joel Miller in the series adaptation of the video game franchise. The role has earned him a SAG award and two Emmy nominations.

“Correct me if I’m wrong, I’m not a huge TV watcher, 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,” Matthew continued. “That one succeeded in a real royal fashion. ‘Last of Us’ was really good but it wasn’t for me at the time.”

Via: Just Jared