Matthew McConaughey passed on the chance to play Joel Miller in HBO\u2019s \u201cThe Last of Us.\u201d<\/p>\n
During an appearance on Josh Horowitz\u2019s \u201cHappy Sad Confused\u201d podcast<\/a> Thursday, McConaughey said the lead role in the video game adaptation \u2014 for which Pedro Pascal received two Emmy nominations<\/a> \u2014 \u201cwasn\u2019t for [him] at the time.\u201d<\/p>\n Horowitz, for his part, asked McConaughey whether he had \u201cseriously considered\u201d signing on for the project. McConaughey said he did, though he ultimately decided to turn down the role.<\/p>\n Matthew McConaughey, pictured above, turned down the role of Joel Miller in HBO\u2019s \u201cThe Last of Us.\u201d Fernando Ramales \/ BACKGRID<\/p>\n Pedro Pascal, seen above, ultimately took on the role, earning two Emmy nominations for his performance. Liane Hentscher\/HBO<\/p>\n \u201cI wasn\u2019t really acting at that point,\u201d the \u201cInterstellar\u201d actor, 56, told Horowitz. \u201cI was doing more writing and looking at leadership roles in life. It was really good. I was really excited.<\/p>\n \u201cCorrect me if I\u2019m wrong, I\u2019m not a huge TV watcher \u2026 we pulled off a real coup with \u2018True Detective\u2019 at a time when series were not something that actors like myself or Woody Harrelson would hop over and go do,\u201d McConaughey added. \u201cThat one succeeded in a real royal fashion.<\/p>\n In 2014, McConaughey earned an Emmy nomination for his lead role as Rust Cohle in HBO\u2019s \u201cTrue Detective,\u201d in which he starred alongside Harrelson, 65, who also received a nomination that year for his role as Martin Hart.<\/p>\n McConaughey, pictured in \u201cSerenity,\u201d told Josh Horowitz on his \u201cHappy Sad Confused\u201d podcast that he \u201cwasn\u2019t really acting at that point.\u201d Everett Collection \/ Everett Collection<\/p>\n McConaughey, seen above in \u201cThe Lost Bus,\u201d was instead pursuing writing and leadership roles. \u00a9Apple TV\/Courtesy Everett Collection<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\tWant more celebrity and pop culture news?\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tStart your day with Page Six Daily.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\tThanks for signing up!\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n Craig Mazin, the co-creator and showrunner of \u201cThe Last of Us,\u201d also discussed approaching McConaughey for the role during a June 2023 appearance on the \u201cHappy Sad Confused\u201d podcast<\/a>, telling Horowitz, \u201cI can\u2019t say that it was serious.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt was more of a, like, \u2018Hey, here\u2019s something to talk about,’\u201d Mazin said, adding that Pascal had been one of their contenders for the role from the start but was initially unavailable. \u201cIt\u2019s one of those things where\u2026 I\u2019m sure there\u2019s an alternate universe where it\u2019s a different guy.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMatthew McConaughey is an amazing actor. I\u2019m sure it would\u2019ve been great, but it would\u2019ve been different. And I like the one that we made,\u201d Mazin concluded.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Last of Us\u201d co-creator and showrunner Craig Mazin said his conversation with McConaughey about the role wasn\u2019t \u201cserious.\u201d Getty Images<\/p>\n Mazin also said that Pascal, pictured above as Joel Miller in \u201cThe Last of Us,\u201d was always on their list for the role. Liane Hentscher\/HBO<\/p>\n