There have been many great actors in GOT till now and we have loved their performances. It is definitely hard to cast so many good actors in a show and the hardest part is to choose from multiple options. Many actors auditioned for the roles in Game of Thrones and we have a list of some that were rejected:
1. Sam Hueghan- Loras Tyrell:
Sam Hueghan auditioned for the roles of Loras Tyrell as well as his lover Renly Baratheon. He came pretty close to playing Loras Tyrell after auditioning seven times. However, he was rejected and Finn Jones got the role of the knight of flowers.
2. Jennifer Ehle- Catelyn Stark:
Jennifer Ehle was supposed to play Catelyn Stark and even shot the pilot episode as the character. The show, however, replaced her with Michelle Fairley soon and no official reason was given. The pilot episode shot with Jennifer was never aired.
3. Jaime Bamber- Jaime Lannister:
Jaime Lannister is a crucial character in the show and has had an interesting character arc. So the casting directors were very careful while picking the actor to play the Kingslayer. Jaime Bamber came very close to playing him and he even looked exactly like the character was supposed to still he was rejected. Not much was ever revealed about the decision-making process when it came to choosing Nikolaj over Jamie. Bamber would have played the character well undoubtedly.
4. Jaime Campbell Bower- Ser Waymar Royce:
Another actor who played a character in the unaired pilot is Jamie Campbell Bower. The actor was chosen for the role of Waymar Royce who is one of the initial characters in the show. The role was small as Royce doesn’t even survive the opening sequence. When the reshoot of the pilot took place Bower was not available and the showrunners had to recast.
5. Izzy Meikle Small- Sansa Stark:
The role of Sansa Stark came down to two major contenders. The first was obviously Sophie Turner but the second was Izzy. The makers went with Turner because they felt Izzy didn’t have the look they were searching for Sansa.
6. Mahershala Ali- Xaro Xhaon Daxos:
We know Mahershala Ali as he won the Oscar earlier this year for his role in ‘Moonlight’. He auditioned for the role of the merchant prince of Qarth. He’s since noted in interviews that he lost the part of his own accord, saying that it was one of the worst auditions of his career.
7. Eugene Simon- Joffrey Baratheon:
It is common how sometimes actors land up roles they didn’t audition for and get rejected for the ones they did. Eugene played the role of Lancel Lannister in the show but he initially auditioned for the role of Joffrey Baratheon. He was told to read the lines for Lancel and he did pretty well so the show runners chose him for that.
8. Tamzin Merchant- Daenerys Targaryen:
Another actor who was re-casted after the unaired pilot episode is Tamzin Merchant. She played the role of Daenerys Targaryen before Emilia was casted. Emilia landed the role finally as the directors thought she was a better choice.
9. Sam Claflin- Jon Snow:
The handsome British actor auditioned for the role of Jon Snow. When he was rejected he also auditioned for Viserys Targaryen but was rejected again. He may not have landed the role of Snow but he went on to star opposite Emilia Clarke in ‘Me before you’.
10. Iwan Rheon- Jon Snow:
Ramsey Bolton was surely the most horrifying villain on the show and was played by Iwan Rheon flawlessly. However, Iwan first auditioned to play Jon Snow but was rejected. The makers still loved him and called him back when they needed their Ramsey. Rheon even said, “I think they made the right choice, it would’ve been a very different Jon Snow if I’d played him.”
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