After the first season of the series ‘The Last of Us’, Hardly many of us could imagine another actor than Pedro Pascal in the role of Joel Miller. However, the co-creator of the series revealed that there were other actors interested in giving life to the smuggler.
Craig Mazin, co-creator of the HBO adaptation of the famous video gameparticipated in the podcast ‘Happy Sad Confused’, where he announced that during the development of the series ‘The Last Of Us’, two well-known actors approached to get the role of Joel.
Two actors wanted to be Joel Miller in the series ‘The Last of Us’
Mazin commented that actor Mahershala Ali (known for his role in ‘True Detective’) and Matthew McConaughey vied for the role of Joel in ‘The Last of Us’. Something that Pedro Pascal finally achieved despite the insistence of both actors.
“I never spoke to Mahershala”said Craig Mazin during his talk on the program where he assured that with Matthew McConaughey there was one or another rapprochement while developing the adaptation of the video game for the HBO platform.
Matthew McConaughey was very interested in being the protagonist of the series
“I can’t say it was serious. It was more like, ‘Hey, here’s something we can talk about.’”said the co-producer of ‘The Last of Us’ where he supported the decision that in the end it was Pedro Pascal who would stay with the leading role of the series.
“It’s one of those things where, I’m sure there’s an alternate universe where he’s a different actor. Matthew McConaughey is an amazing actor, I’m sure he would have been greatbut it would have been different, and I like the one we did ”, mentioned.
But the creators of ‘The Last Of Us’ always thought of Pedro Pascal
Although Matthew McConaughey and Mahershala Ali were very interested from the start of the projectthe producers of ‘The Last of Us’ always had Pedro Pascal in mind for the main role of the series that earlier this year was renewed for a second season.
Of course, things weren’t easy for Mazin and the ‘The Last of Us’ team either, as the co-creator of the series revealed that At first, the Chilean actor’s agent told him that Pedro Pascal had a full agenda and may not be available for ‘The Last Of Us’.
Pedro Pascal fortunately found a space in his schedule for ‘The Last of Us’
“Normally, when you send scripts to actors like this, you’re lucky if you get a reading a month from now. He was in England at the time working on a film and I thought that between the film and the time change, it would take him a long time.”, said Craig Mazin.
Fortunately, Pedro Pascal saw the script and loved the project: “(the script) I sent it on Friday. On Saturday morning I get a call: ‘He loves it. He wants to get on a Zoom’”, told the co-creator of ‘The Last of Us’ in the aforementioned podcast.
Honestly, and although Matthew McConaughey and Mahershala Ali are great actors, we cannot deny that Pedro Pascal seems to have been born to play Joel Miller in ‘The Last of Us’. And not only do we say it, but all the people on the internet who see him as a father figure….
