THE LAST OF US Creator Craig Mazin Says He Spoke to Matthew McConaughey About the Lead Role
The first season of HBO’s The Last of Us was a huge hit with fans. The series, based on the 2013 video game of the same name, the series is set in 2023, twenty years into a pandemic caused by a mass fungal infection, which causes its hosts to transform into zombie-like creatures and collapses society.
Pedro Pascal stars in the series as Joel, a hardened survivor who is hired to smuggle Ellie (Bella Ramsey), a 14-year-old girl, out of an oppressive quarantine zone to the Fireflies, a cure-searching organization. What starts as a small job soon becomes a brutal, heartbreaking journey, as they both must traverse across the U.S. and depend on each other for survival.
Pascal was great in the role, but it turns out he was not the only actor in the running. A few months ago, it was reported that Mahershala Ali almost got the part, and now the creator has revealed that Matthew McConaughey was also in talks to take on the role.
In a recent episode of Josh Horowitz's Happy Sad Confused podcast, showrunner Craig Mazin said he did reach out to McConaughey when Pascal’s availability was in question. Pascal was always the first choice, but as he was locked in to playing The Mandalorian, it wasn’t yet clear if he would be able to do both shows. Mazin explained:
"I did talk to Matthew. It was more like, 'Hey, here's something to talk about.' Pedro was on our list from the start, but we were told he was unavailable and then as we were kind of floundering about a little bit I got a call from his agent who said, 'You know, he actually might be available,' and I sent a script off ... I sent it on a Friday and Saturday morning I get a call. 'He loves it and wants to get on a Zoom.' [Laughs.] That's a good sign. And then we got on a Zoom and we had what I think may be the most wonderful Zoom I think I've ever had. Just love at first sight."
Mazin went on to praise McConaughey as an actor, saying:
"Look, Matthew McConaughey's an amazing actor. I'm sure it would have been great, but it would have been different and I liked the one that we made, so what can I say? I think it worked out well."
It’s funny because there are so many of those alternate cast almosts in Hollywood that honestly could have also been great, but it seems like the reality we got to see is always the best one.
Season 1 of The Last of Us is available to watch on MAX, and Season 2 is in the works.