For a generation of fans, Elizabeth Olsen might be best associated with her role as the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Scarlet Witch, particularly after her Emmy-nominated turn in WandaVision. But before making her debut in the franchise in Avengers: Age of Ultron, Olsen almost took on a completely different role, with the actress confirming in a recent interview that she auditioned for Daenerys Targaryen in Game of Thrones. While Emilia Clarke ultimately took on the role, some have wondered what it would have been like to see Daenerys as the Mother of Dragons — and thanks to a new video, we have our answer. A new video from Stryder HD deepfakes Olsen into some key Daenerys scenes, including her death scene in the final season.
“Yes, I auditioned for Game of Thrones,” Olsen explained in an interview earlier this year. “I auditioned for, like, the assistant to the casting director in a small room in New York with just a camera on me and them reading the script. I was doing the Khaleesi speech when she comes out of the fire. It was awful. I didn’t get a callback.”
Olsen previously spoke about the experience of trying out for the HBO series, calling the experience “awkward” and “uncomfortable.”
“It was for Khaleesi — she was just burned alive and then I start making this huge speech,” Olsen said at the time. “I was in the smallest room with the casting director, they didn’t even have a reader, and that was the furthest I ever got. It was that bad. It was horrible. I was like, ‘This is uncomfortable for me, I’m sure it’s awkward for her, no one’s going to enjoy this experience.'”
“I should have [stopped it],” she added. “I think I would now. I’d be, ‘I don’t think I’m going to do this any justice… hopefully call me back at a different time for something else.”
Ultimately, it all worked out for Olsen, as she has now made the role of Scarlet Witch her own in the MCU. Following the release of WandaVision earlier this year, the actress will next be reprising her role in the forthcoming Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
“I have spent the last 7 years playing this character and she has changed and grown with me,” Olsen said in an interview earlier this year. “But it wasn’t until WandaVision, and now Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, that I felt a sense of ownership and creative license with her.”
