Pedro Pascal Could Have Lost The Last of Us Part to Matthew McConaughey (And Not Just Him)
And the True Detective star wasn't the only one who could have played Joel in the HBO series.
After it was announced that The Last of Us, an acclaimed 2013 video game from Naughty Dog, would be getting a live-action TV adaptation, fans held their breath in anticipation of the casting reveal.
When it was announced that Pedro Pascal would be playing Joel Miller, it sparked a bit of a debate, as some fans were excited to see the actor's take on the character, while others felt he was miscast, and some were even angered by the race-swapping, as in-game Joel is white and Pascal is Chilean.
But as soon as the first episode aired, the number of people who were skeptical about the actor decreased significantly, as Pedro gave an excellent performance and perfectly conveyed the nature of the character, which only increased the fans' love for him.
But we could have gotten a very different Joel, as the show's co-creator Craig Mazin recently revealed.
While speaking on the Happy, Sad, Confused podcast, he said that aside from Mahershala Ali, who has been rumored as a possible choice for some time, Matthew McConaughey was also a candidate to play Joel and they even talked about his involvement in the project.
However, it didn't work out and the role went to Pascal, who had only recently become available.
Fans jokingly point out that if Matthew had gotten the role, the only logical casting choice for Joel's brother Tommy would have been Woody Harrelson, as the two actors already had an incredible chemistry in True Detective season 1.
However, even though McConaughey is a brilliant actor and would have been great in the role, fans are more than happy with what they got as Pascal absolutely nailed the character.
No release date has been announced for The Last of Us season 2.
Sources: YouTube, Reddit