It’s a show which has gripped us for nearly seven years – and a large part of the global affection for Game of Thrones is no doubt down to the ultra-talented cast list that’s been assembled over that time.
But have you ever wondered what could have been? Might we have loved Jon Snow a little less had he not been portrayed by Kit Harington? Could someone else have played Joffrey and made him as eminently dislikable as Jack Gleeson did?
As the cast list was first being assembled back in 2010-11, many of the GoT actors that we’ve come to know and love actually auditioned for different roles to the ones they were eventually cast in.
Let’s take a look at what could’ve been – especially when it came to who would play Jon Snow…
Iwan Rheon – Jon Snow
Before excelling as Ramsay Bolton, Rheon actually auditioned for two entirely different parts: Daenerys’ brother Viserys, and Jon Snow.
Speaking to Interview Magazine, Rheon revealed: ‘When the pilot first came it was a general audition.
‘And then the [producers] were like, “Can you come back in and read for this other character, Jon Snow?”
‘At the time I didn’t know much about it. So I auditioned for Jon Snow, but so did a lot of other people probably.’
After having it confirmed that he made it through to the final two, Rheon eventually lost out to Harington – with the former admitting that that in itself was ‘quite crazy’.
‘It could’ve been so different,’ he said. ‘I think they made the right choice; it would’ve been a very different Jon Snow if I’d played him.
‘I don’t think there’s much point in dwelling on these kind of things. You’re inevitably going to know other actors going up for parts and you have to be open about it.
‘The majority of the time it’s a specific thing they’re looking for, which could easily come down to how you look, and there’s not an awful lot you can do about that.’
So diplomatic, Iwan.
Conleth Hill – Robert Baratheon
Played for just one season by Mark Addy – you know, him off of The Full Monty – the part of Robert Baratheon could’ve actually gone to Conleth Hill, who ended up playing Varys.
Speaking to The Huffington Post, Hill revealed that the rumours about the potential casting were true.
‘I have to say that I came out of the [casting] meeting, which went all right, and looked who was in after me, saw who it was [Addy], and went, “Well, he’d be all right for it.”
‘And he was, and he got it. You know, that’s showbiz.’
Such diplomacy!
Alfie Allen – Jon Snow
Allen has enjoyed a long spell on the show as Theon Greyjoy, but he could’ve pinched Harington’s role from under his nose. Well, sort of.
After reading for Jon Snow, GoT showrunners Dan Weiss and David Benioff both agreed that Allen had put in a good audition.
‘The odd thing is, Alfie originally came in to read for Jon Snow,’ Benioff recalled during an episode commentary for the season five Blu-ray.
‘And we thought, “Well he’s great … [but] he’s not quite Jon Snow.”‘
Still, it worked out pretty well for Allen on GoT, right?
Conan Stevens – Khal Drogo
It was Jason Momoa who would land the role of Khal, but it was Conan Stevens (who played Gregor Clegane in season one) who first grabbed the attention of the powers-that-be with his audition for Khal.
It’s been reported that Stevens initially auditioned for the role in order to put his hat in the ring for the part of Gregor – an odd way to do it, admittedly.
But it did the job – so why not, eh?
Eugene Simon – Joffrey Baratheon
Joffrey, Joffrey, Joffrey – the royal pipsqueak was eventually played by Jack Gleeson, but not before Eugene Simon attempted to land the role.
While Simon was later cast as the sinister Lancel Lannister, he initially intended to play Joffrey – although he’s been very gracious in defeat since then.
‘Jack [Gleeson] was just a far better Joffrey than I could’ve been,’ Simon told TV Guide.
‘But also, I genuinely do love the role of Lancel a great deal. Whenever he comes on screen, he’s usually gone ahead and changed something,’ he added.
‘He’s gone ahead and burst into a brothel and sacked the entire place. Or he’s slept with the queen. Or he’s been dying on a deathbed. Or he’s been converted to an extremist religious group.
‘It keeps me very much on my toes.’
Joe Dempsie – Jon Snow, Pyp and Grenn
Blimey Joe – the former Skins star clearly wanted to be on Game Of Thrones.
Dempsie ended up playing Gendry on the HBO show, but not before he’d tried his hand at three different GoT roles.
We’ll let Joe take the story from here.
‘I initially auditioned for the part of Jon Snow, and obviously didn’t get it,’ he told LeftLion. ‘I’d been for two or three different parts, and each time I didn’t get them I’d think; “I’m not getting these parts, they obviously think I’m rubbish.”
‘They were just trying to figure out which piece of the jigsaw I was,’ he continued.
‘In the first series I’m only in two episodes, and I remember thinking that I had none of the physical attributes of the character; I was supposed to be tall and muscular with thick black hair, and I was none of them. They said; “We’ll dye your hair, you go to the gym.”‘
Even after all of that hubbub, Dempsie still wasn’t sure the producers would stick with him for the second season of the show.
‘I was working out whether or not they were avoiding my face so that they could get another actor in for series two.’
Thankfully, it didn’t happen – and aren’t we all glad about that…
Got a story?
If you’ve got a story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk Entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.
MORE: Game Of Thrones season 8 first poster is the beginning of the end
MORE: ‘We don’t want to drag it out’: Game Of Thrones star confesses the cast are keen to end show
