what's happening with The Last Of Us

This Actor Almost Got The Role Of Joel In ‘The Last Of Us’ Instead Of Pedro Pascal

In the world of entertainment, casting decisions can make or break a project. When it comes to highly anticipated adaptations of beloved stories, casting is even more crucial. That’s why fans of the hit video game The Last Of Us were eagerly awaiting news about who would play the leading roles in the HBO series adaptation. One surprising name that came up in the discussion was Mahershala Ali, who was reportedly seriously considered for the leading role of Joel before Pedro Pascal was cast.

Mahershala Ali, known from House Of Cards, Luke Cage and much more, earned two Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actor.

READ MORE: HBO Orders Season Two For ‘The Last of Us’

This news was revealed by Jeffrey Pierce, who played Tommy Miller in the games and Perry in the series in a recent interview with The Direct, when he was asked about maybe playing Tommy in the series:

“I think initially they had talked to Mahershala Ali about playing Joel, which is an obvious cue that I’m not gonna play Tommy… And when they cast Pedro, I knew like, yeah, that was certainly not going to happen regardless, I’m older than Pedro Pascal. So I was not under harboring any illusions about that, for sure.”

Are you happy with the choice they ended up making for both Joel and Tommy? Let us know!

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Eva van den Bosch Head Editor, Photographer
Eva van den Bosch combines concert photography with a prominent editorial role at Strife Mag.