Casting for a TV show isn’t as much fun as it’s cracked up to be. It can be a painstaking process, one that often needs to be ironed out along the way.
As such, not every actor always gets the part they thought they were meant to play. Have a look and check out these 10+ TV actors who auditioned for a series and got a completely different part.
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Could you imagine Jon Favreau as Chandler Bing on *Friends*?
Fans will likely remember that Jon had a short recurring role playing Pete Becker; a cage-fighting millionaire who was hopelessly infatuated with Monica.
Jon’s an incredible actor and an even greater director , but he noticeably lacked chemistry with the cast.
Norman Reedus came to read for the part of Merle on *The Walking Dead*.
Did you know that Daryl Dixon didn’t come from Robert Kirkman’s comic book? The character was created especially for Norman Reedus.
After seeing him audition for Merle, they knew they had to include him in some way.
Picture a universe where Jensen Ackles is Sam Winchester in *Supernatural*.
I can’t do it and I don’t want to do it. Dean Winchester ranks in the highest echelon of TV badasses. He’s without a doubt one of the coolest fictional characters of all time.
Jensen just wouldn’t have worked as Sam.
Olivia Wilde narrowly missed out on being Marissa Cooper on *The O.C.*.
Supposedly, it was down to Olivia and Mischa Barton. Ultimately, the showrunners came to the decision that Olivia’s inherent confidence would make it difficult for audiences to see her as emotionally vulnerable.
Hank Azaria desperately wanted to be Joey on *Friends*.
He wanted it bad . Hank has stated that he’s never worked harder for a job — he even auditioned on two separate occasions.
In the end, Hank wound up playing David, Phoebe’s nerdy long-time love interest.
Carice Van Houten aspired toward the Iron Throne and the role of Cersei Lannister in *Game Of Thrones*.
I think the majority of people would agree that The Red Woman was one of the most alluring elements of Game of Thrones .
Carice Van Houten is simply so perfect in that role that my brain can’t even begin to process her as anything but.
Bob Odenkirk was sure that he would be Michael Scott in *The Office*.
The way the story goes is that the network had already made a verbal offer to Bob Odenkirk that was then retracted once Steve Carell became available.
Bob showed up toward the end of season 9 playing Mark Franks .
Mädchen Amick was being considered for the part of Lorelai in *Gilmore Girls*.
According to Mädchen, she made it far along in the audition process. In the end, the producers felt that she didn’t look old enough to be a mother .
I suppose that’s a compliment of sorts?
Stephanie Beatriz’s first audition was for the role of Amy Santiago in *Brooklyn 99*.
Stephanie got callbacks for Amy and for Megan (later renamed Rosa). Stephanie said that during her audition for Amy she was incredibly nervous and performed poorly.
The screen test for Megan was subsequently much better and in the end — she won the part.
Natasha Lyonne could have been Alex in *Orange Is The New Black*
Natasha was going to read for the part of Alex but casting decided to make a last-minute decision and have her read Nicky’s lines.
The suddenness of it all didn’t stop Natasha from giving a stellar performance.
Betty White was supposed to be Blanche on *The Golden Girls*.
This is one of those “what were they thinking?” type moments. I mean really, could you picture little Betty White as Blanche Devereaux ?
That’s just creepy if you ask me.
Grant Gustin first auditioned to play Roy in *Arrow* and wound up being cast as *The Flash*.
That’s gotta feel pretty good, don’t you think?
I know if I was going into the audition thinking that I was playing a side-kick only to wind up leaving the star of my own superhero series — I’d feel pretty darn good about myself.
Sarah Michelle Gellar thought that she was going to be Cordelia in *Buffy The Vampire Slayer*.
Talk about dodging a bullet. I’ve got nothing but love for Charisma Carpenter but as the Slayer ?! There’s no way.
Sarah has this innate dark side to her personality that she’s able to tap into seemingly at will. She was made to slay.
Iwan Rheon nearly beat out Kit Harrington for the role of Jon Snow on *Game Of Thrones*.
You can certainly understand why; Iwan and Kit do have strikingly similar features.
There’s no argument that Jon looks like more of a Stark than Iwan does, maybe that was the final deciding factor?
Courtney Cox originally auditioned for Rachel Green on *Friends*.
Courtney didn’t just audition for the role of Rachel — she turned it down altogether!
She felt that she had far more in common with Monica , and opted to play her instead. I still think it’s a travesty that Courtney never managed even a single Emmy nomination.
