In an interview with Josh Horowitz, Matthew McConaughey has confirmed that he seriously considered taking on the role of Joel Miller in HBO's The Last of Us, revealing that the acclaimed video game adaptation crossed his desk right when he'd stepped back from acting.
McConaughey, who famously starred as Rust Cohle in HBO's True Detective, was asked about the possibility of playing Joel and explained why he ultimately turned down the headline The Last of Us.
"I did [seriously consider starring in The Last of Us]. That was also... I wasn’t really acting at that point," the Oscar winner explains in the video below. "I think that was part of when I was doing more writing and looking at, you know, leadership roles in life. It was really good. I was really excited."
Reflecting on his experience with True Detective, he pointed out how unusual it was for established movie stars to commit to television at the time. The first season of the anthology series, which co-starred Woody Harrelson, became a major critical and commercial success. However, it was a one-off series, not a multi-year commitment, which is why McConaughey baulked at The Last of Us.
"Correct me if I’m wrong. 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," he mused. "And that one succeeded in a real royal fashion. The Last of Us was really good. I just... it wasn’t for me at the time. I don’t know what would have been for me at the time."
McConaughey eventually found his way back to acting with The Rivals of Amziah King, which he describes as an especially appealing proposition because it was a standalone movie rather than another TV series.
"Then the first thing that came across was [The Rivals of Amziah King]. That I went like, 'Oh, this is extremely particular. It’s a movie. It’s one movie. A series you do have to consider. I do consider, of course, well, you want this to succeed," the actor shared. "Well, in success, this is something you’ll be doing for years and years and years. Do I want that to be the case in success?"
It's an intriguing glimpse at what could have been for The Last of Us. McConaughey's take on Joel would inevitably have been very different from Pedro Pascal's performance, which became one of the defining elements of the HBO series and won him a Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Award and a People's Choice Award, alongside multiple Emmy and Golden Globe nominations.
Given McConaughey's history with HBO, particularly his acclaimed work on True Detective, it's easy to see why The Last of Us would have been an enticing opportunity both for him and the premium cable network.
Ultimately, the prospect of starring in multiple seasons was clearly an issue, though it's hard not to wonder if he'd have taken a different path had he been made aware that Joel's Season 2 presence would be minor.
Do you think McConaughey would have been a better fit for The Last of Us' Joel?