Wouldn’t it suck to lose a role in Game Of Thrones ? Well, read on and you might find out how it feels because that’s exactly what happened to these next few actors.
Dominic West was almost Mance Rayder
At least we think so because this was the only role not filled in season 3.
He turned down the role because he didn’t want to commit to 3 months of shooting in Reykjavik.
Gillian Anderson was almost Cersei Lannister
She told in Daily Mail in 2013 that she was approached to do a certain role, but turned it down.
Honestly, who else could it be?
Jared Harris was almost High Sparrow
Not only did this guy get turned down for a role in Game Of Thrones , he got turned down for Westworld too!
Jeez, Mr. Harris, you have the worst luck!
Jennifer Ehle was almost Catelyn Stark
Believe it or not, she was actually IN an episode of Game Of Thrones … an unaired pilot.
However, she dropped out and was quickly replaced by Michelle Fairley before the show’s April 2011 release.
Mahershala Ali was almost Xaro Xhoan Daxos
In an interview with Jimmy Kimmel , he said that: “I think my audition guaranteed that I wasn’t almost on Game of Thrones, that was one of the worst auditions of my life.”
Perdita Weeks was almost Roslin Frey
She turned down the role to be in The Heretics and when the GoT was postponed, she called back to see if she could still accept the role.
Unfortunately, it had already been cast.
Sam Claflin was supposed to play Jon Snow or Viserys Targaryen
While he was turned down for both roles, eventually, he got a small taste of Game Of Thrones when he acted alongside Emilia Clarke (also known as Daenerys Targaryen) in 2016’s Me Before You .
Tamzin Merchant was supposed to be Daenerys Targaryen
Like our friend Jennifer Ehle, Tamzin appeared in the unaired pilot as the queen of dragons.
But, after the episode turned out to be a complete disaster, most of it was reshot, including switching out Tamzin Merchant for Emilia Clarke.
Lily Allen was supposed to be Yara Greyjoy
Fun fact, Lily Allen is the real-life sister of Alfie Allen, who plays Theon Greyjoy.
She sounds like the perfect person to play Theon’s sister, we know, but there were some… questionable things she’d have to do that made her say no.
Danny Dyer was supposed to be Pyp
Well, Pyp amongst others.
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In fact, he was turned down for three separate roles, officially holding the record on this list.
Some cast members point to his cockney accent as the reason he could never get a part.
Sam Heughan was supposed to be either Loras Tyrell, aka the Knight of Flowers, or Renly Baratheon
This is the second Sam on this list to be turned down for two roles (it’s all connected, I wouldn’t look too much into it if I were you).
Izzy Meikle-Small was almost Sansa Stark
In an interview with Telegraph, she said about losing the role :
“I was a bit sad, because the show’s massive, but I’m not that unhappy, because they all show a lot of flesh, don’t they? I don’t think my parents would be happy.”
Jamie Campbell Bower was supposed to be Waymar Royce
He, like a couple of others on this list, was in the unaired pilot of the critically acclaimed TV series.
The actor might not be completely done with Game Of Thrones , however. Apparently, according to Insider , he might be appearing in a prequel spin-off series.
Tricia Helfer could’ve been Cersei Lannister
This Battlestar Galactica auditioned for the role, but was unfortunately turned down.
That’s okay, she’s gotten lots of good roles since! She even got to be the wife of God!
How many people say they got to play Morgan Freeman’s spouse in a TV series?
And that’s everybody!
Well, as far as we know.
Why don’t you let us know if we forgot anybody really big?
Hey, Sean Connery has a history of turning down major roles, maybe he was supposed to play Tyrion or something!
