# Matthew McConaughey nearly played Joel in The Last of Us – here's why he passed

> Matthew McConaughey has explained why he ultimately passed on playing Joel in HBO's The Last of Us – a role that, of course, went to Pedro Pascal instead.

- **Source:** [Eurogamer](https://www.eurogamer.net/matthew-mcconaughey-last-of-us-joel-turned-down?utm_source=gearopen.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=feed&utm_content=6a81fe73712f8d354bbf76e6)
- **Published:** 2026-08-16
- **Category:** Gaming
- **Tags:** #mcconaughey #joel #last #matthew #passed #nearly #played #always
- **Canonical:** http://localhost:4321/a/6a81fe73712f8d354bbf76e6

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_GearOpen's distilled summary. The full original article is published at Eurogamer (source link above); GearOpen does not republish the source's full text._