Game of Thrones has featured a lot of great actors, and their performances have been widely appreciated. It is certainly to cast such a large number of good actors in one show, and the toughest part was to choose from the various options available. A lot of actors auditioned for the roles available in the series, and we have compiled a list of some actors who auditioned, but, failed to make the cut.
1. Sam Hueghan- Loras Tyrell:
Sam Hueghan gave auditions for Loras Tyrell and also his lover Renly Baratheon. He almost got to play Loras Tyrell after giving seven auditions. However, he failed to get the approval, and Finn Jones bagged the role to play the Knight of flowers.
2. Jennifer Ehle- Catelyn Stark:
Jennifer Ehle was on her way to play Catelyn Stark and even filmed the pilot episode as Catelyn. However, she was soon replaced with Michelle Fairley without any formal explanation and the pilot episode filmed by her Jennifer was never aired.
3. Jaime Bamber- Jaime Lannister:
Jaime Lannister is vital to the show, and his character is highly interesting. Therefore, the casting directors exercised great caution while selecting the actor to portray the Kingslayer. Jaime Bamber had a great shot at the role, and his appearance exactly matched the character, yet, he didn’t make it through. There was no detail given about what went against him and how Nikolaj was chosen over him. Bamber would have done excellently in character.
4. Jaime Campbell Bower- SerWaymar Royce:
The other actor who played a role in the unreleased pilot is Jamie Campbell Bower. He was selected to play Waymar Royce who is among the original characters for the show. The role was not much as Royce died in the opening sequence itself. However, at the time of the reshoots of the pilot, Bower was unavailable, and they had to choose someone else.
5. Izzy Meikle-Small- Sansa Stark:
The competition for Sansa Stark was down to two ladies. One was Sophie Turner, and the other was Izzy. They chose Turner because they felt Izzy didn’t look like their ideal Sansa.
6. Mahershala Ali- XaroXhaonDaxos
Mahershala Ali shot to fame with his Oscar win earlier this year for Moonlight. He had auditioned for the part of the merchant prince of Qarth. He has remarked in interviews subsequently that he lost due to his own failure as he gave one of the worst auditions of his career.
7. Eugene Simon- Joffrey Baratheon:
It often happens how actors get the roles they didn’t audition for and failed to get the ones that they went after. Eugene played the character of Lancel Lannister in Game of Thrones. However, he had earlier auditioned to play Joffrey Baratheon. He was asked to read the lines for Lancel, and he did so well that he was cast as the character.
8. Tamzin Merchant- Daenerys Targaryen:
Tamzim happens to be another actor who played the role in the unaired pilot but got recast. She was set to play Daenerys Targaryen before Emilia was roped in. Emilia got the role ultimately as she impressed the directors more.
9. Sam Claflin- Jon Snow:
This handsome British actor had tried to play Jon Snow. After he was rejected, he tried to play Viserys Targaryen, and he failed again. He couldn’t get to play the part of Snow, but, he did manage to star opposite Emilia Clarke in ‘Me Before You.’
10. Iwan Rheon- Jon Snow:
Ramsey Bolton was definitely a highly frightening villain on Game of Thrones, and it was played by Iwan Rheon immaculately. However, Iwan had earlier faced rejection when he auditioned for Jon Snow. The makers liked him and contacted him when they wanted to find Ramsey. Rheon even stated, “I think they made the right choice, it would’ve been a very different Jon Snow if I’d played him.”
