Matthew McConaughey joined the HBO Hall of Fame with his Emmy-nominated lead role on the first season of “True Detective,” and he nearly landed another major part in the network’s video game adaptation of “The Last of Us.” However, he turned down playing the main character Joel, explaining that “it wasn’t for me at the time.”
“I wasn’t really acting at that point,” the Oscar winner said on the “Happy Sad Confused” podcast. “That was when I was doing more writing and looking at leadership roles in life. It was really good. 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.”
“The Last of Us” creator Craig Mazin had previously confirmed on the podcast that he had talked to McConaughey about starring in the zombie apocalypse show, but added “I can’t say that it was serious.”
“It was more of just like, ‘Hey, here’s something we can talk about’… It’s one of those things where I’m sure there’s an alternate universe where it’s a different guy,” Mazin said. “Look, Matthew McConaughey is an amazing actor. I’m sure it would’ve been great, but it would’ve been different and I like the one that we made.”
