10 Actors Who Were Almost Cast on Game of Thrones
After six seasons of watching Daenerys transform from timid Targaryen pawn to khaleesi to Dragon Queen on Game of Thrones, it's hard to imagine anyone else but Emilia Clarke pulling off the role. However, the Me Before You star apparently wasn't even showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss' first choice for the part.
In fact, several key Westerosi players — from Jon Snow to Catelyn Stark to Loras Tyrell — were nearly played by different actors, meaning the fabric of the hit HBO drama as fans know it had the potential to be drastically different.
m Claflin
Before starring in The Hunger Games movies as dashing District 4 champion Finnick Odair, Claflin was apparently in the running to be cast in Thrones' very first season. During a 2016 interview with Cinema Blend, the 30-year-old actor revealed he auditioned for both the roles of Jon Snow and Viserys Targaryen — the ill-fated brother of Daenerys who ends up getting a pot of molten gold dumped on his head.
However, Claflin said he was ultimately glad he didn't make the cut. "I like getting into things like that [as a viewer] and not being a part, because I always find it’s very jarring if I was part of it," he explained. "But I’m a big fan."
Gillian Anderson
While promoting her serial killer drama The Fall in 2013, Anderson told The Daily Mail that she had declined roles on both Downton Abbey and Thrones — a decision that her daughter Piper apparently found baffling. "My 18-year-old cannot believe that I would turn down Game Of Thrones or Downton — things she loves to watch," she said.
The X-Files alum never let on as to which Westerosi resident she was in talks to play, but some fans speculate it was none other than Queen Cersei Lannister herself.
Tamzin Merchant
Following some intense feedback on Thrones' disastrous original (never-aired) pilot, showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss drastically altered the episode to create the current version of the show. One significant change was the recasting of Daenerys from Merchant to Emilia Clarke — despite George R.R. Martin's praise of her performance as Henry VIII's fifth wife Catherine Howard in The Tudors and her initial readings as the Mother of Dragons. No official reason was ever given for her departure.
Izzy Meikle-Small
While attending a London screening of The Big Wedding in 2013, Meikle-Small revealed that she was neck and neck with Sophie Turner to play Sansa Stark throughout the season one audition process. Turner ended up snagging the role, but while Meikle-Small was disappointed at first, she ultimately realized the part wasn't right for her.
"I got to the final two to play Lady Sansa Sark," she told The Telegraph. "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."
And the rest of them...
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