Matthew McConaughey reveals why he turned down playing Joel in ‘The Last of Us’: ‘It was really good but…’

Hollywood actor Matthew McConaughey has shared that he turned down playing the main character of Joel in ‘The Last of Us’.

Matthew McConaughey on turning down ‘The Last Of Us’

Opening up on the ‘Happy Sad Confused’ podcast, the actor has said that the role wasn’t for him at the time. Matthew said, “I wasn’t really acting at that point. That was when I was doing more writing and looking at leadership roles in life. It was really good”.He further mentioned, “I was excited. Correct me if I’m wrong, I’m not a huge TV watcher, 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. That one succeeded in a real royal fashion. ‘Last of Us’ was really good but it wasn’t for me at the time”.

Matthew McConaughey on signing for films vs TV

He said, “I don’t know what would have been for me at the time. The first thing I came across was ‘Rivals’. This was extremely particular. It’s one movie. A series, you do have to consider if you want this to succeed, this is something you’ll be doing for years and year and years. Do I want that to be the case in success?”The role of Joel in the hit series, ultimately went to Pedro Pascal.

Matthew McConaughey’s film slate

Matthew McConaughey is currently on a press tour for his thriller, ‘The Rivals of Amziah King’. The film marks his first live-action role since 2019’s ‘The Gentlemen’.Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson had a ‘True Detective’ reunion this year, but on Apple TV’s series ‘Brothers’, where they played fictional versions of themselves who find out they might be related.