BLADE Star Mahershala Ali Was Almost Cast as Joel in HBO's THE LAST OF US Series
While Pedro Pascal has been awesome in the role of Joel in HBO Max’s series adaptation of The Last of Us, another actor almost ended up in the role. That actor is Mahershala Ali, who is set to star in Marvel’s upcoming Blade movie.
This little bit of "what if” casting trivia came from Jeffrey Pierce, the voice of Tommy in the games. During an interview with The Direct, Pierce shared that he didn't expect to play Tommy in the series adaptation, because Mahershala was initially being courted for the role of Joel. He explained:
"I think initially they had talked to Mahershala Ali about playing Joel, which is an obvious cue that I'm not gonna play Tommy… And when they cast Pedro [Pascal], I knew like, yeah, that was certainly not going to happen regardless, I'm older than Pedro Pascal. So I was not under harboring any illusions about that, for sure."
Gabriel Luna is the actor that ultimately ended up taking on the role of Tommy in the series, but Pierce does appear in the show as the character Perry, who’s an ally of Melanie Lynskey's ruthless Kathleen, and he appears in episode 4 and episode 5. Also, Troy Baker, who voices Joel in the video game franchise, has a role in the upcoming episode 8. Pierce talked about his role in the show, saying:
"I told [co-showrunner Neil Druckmann] early on, I was like, look, I'll come and carry a spear and stand in the corner if there's anything that I can do to help support telling the story of the game – you know, count me in. And the fact that it turned into Perry is kind of one of those [laughs]. He sent me the scripts and I read him. I was like, 'Oh shit, this is gonna be so much fun'. He is one of the most lovely, talented, decent human beings going, and he is so good at his job that when he hands you writing, you just know how to make it fly. And this was one of those moments."
In the end, casting Psacal as Joel was the right decision, he’s perfect in the role! It is interesting to hear that the creative team was looking at Mahershala for the lead role, though. He’s a great actor, but I don’t think I’d trade Pascal for anyone in that role. What do you think?