It’s been a whole year since Game Of Thrones came to an end after eight seasons and left a huge Jon Snow-shaped hole in our hearts.
The HBO series all came to a close a little controversially, with some fans being left unhappy with the ending that saw Daenerys spiral into the Mad Queen and Bran Stark left sitting on the Iron Throne.
But, it’s not just season eight’s ending that could have been oh-so different, as many of the stars of Game Of Thrones actually had their sights set on a very different character to the one they ended up playing.
Kit Harington is Jon Snow and we won’t have another word said about it, but imagine if Iwan Rheon had won the role instead of playing Ramsay Bolton.
Then there’s Lena Heady as Cersei Lannister. The two go hand-in-hand, but what if Carice Van Houten, who plays Melisandre, scooped up her crown instead.
Such castings could have potentially happened and many more too.
Iwan Rheon – plays Ramsay Bolton auditioned for Jon Snow
Iwan, who previously starred in Misfits, was the perfect fit for Ramsay and truly made us despise his Game Of Thrones character right down to his vile core.
He seems to do evil so well, but Iwan admits initially he wanted to play the hero and Jon Snow was the role he first auditioned for – making it down to the final two alongside co-star Kit.
Speaking to Interview magazine, he said: ‘I think it was between me and Kit, which is quite crazy. It could’ve been so different. I’d be dead now. I think they made the right choice, it would have been a very different Jon Snow if I’d played him.’
Alfie Allen – plays Theon Greyjoy auditioned for Jon Snow
Fans know and love Alfie Allen for playing Theon Greyjoy, Jon Snow’s cocky best friend who gets dealt a rather cruel card and is captured by House Bolton and turned into Ramsay’s broken pet Reek.
According to Game Of Thrones’ showrunners Dan Weiss and David Benioff, Alfie had actually auditioned for Jon Snow too, but after he read for the part they thought: ‘Well, he’s great… but he’s not quite Jon Snow.’
Carice Van Houten – plays Melisandre originally asked to play Cersei Lannister
Carice masterfully brought to life Melisandre, a key player in the show as the Red Priestess, who started out as a close counsellor to Stannis Baratheon, brought Jon Snow back from the dead and later united him with Daenerys Targaryen.
Initially, Carice was asked to audition for the part of Cersei, but was forced to turn it down due to scheduling clashes. She told Vulture in 2012: ‘I thought the queen would be a great part, and [the producers] asked me to audition, but I couldn’t do it because I was shooting something else.’
Carice thinks it ‘all turned out for the best’, though as she later told The Times: ‘Lena couldn’t be a better Cersei. It makes sense, because they’re sort of the same wood, as we say.’
Natalie Dormer – plays Margaery Tyrell auditioned for unknown female role
Natalie has revealed in the past that she wasn’t so keen on accepting the part of Margaery, as she felt the character was very similar to the part of Anne Boleyn she had played in The Tudors.
She’d auditioned for a different female role in the show, but wouldn’t reveal who.
Liam Cunningham – plays Davros Seaworth auditioned for unknown role
Liam, who plays Ser Davros Seaworth in the series, was originally pitched a completely different role, but he has never revealed who.
Speaking to GQ, Liam said ‘it wouldn’t be fair to the other actor’ to reveal which role he was contacted about, but it was for Game Of Thrones’ first season.
He admits that he had been hesitant to get onboard with the show entirely at first, revealing: ‘They contacted me and said, “It’s dragons,” and I said, “Stop right there,” and they said, “It’s HBO,” and I said, “Send me the script.”
‘I read the script and the hair went up on the back of my neck. I ran back to my agent and said, “Get me in there immediately.”‘
Conleth Hill – plays Varys auditioned for Robert Baratheon
Conleth is known for playing Varys, an eunuch who was the Master of Whisperers on the King’s Small Council, before being forced to flee with Tyrion Lannister.
While Varys is manipulative, he isn’t as in your face and as brash as say Robert Baratheon, the former King, but that’s who Conleth originally auditioned for.
Speaking to Huffington Post he said that he thinks that Mark Addy, who later won the role of Robert, was the right call.
‘I have to say that I came out of the 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.’
Conleth added that it wasn’t until after he accepted the role of Varys that producers asked him how he felt about shaving his head.
Eugene Simon – plays Lancel Lannister auditioned for Joffrey Baratheon
Eugene bagged the role of Lancel Lannister, the first cousin of Jaime, Tyrion and Cercei, who he ends up having an affair with before later ditching his family name to join the religious movement known as the Sparrows.
But, Eugene could have met a more gruesome fate on the show, as it turns out he had eyed up the role of Joffrey, played by Jack Gleeson, who is crowned King only to then be poisoned.
Conan Stevens – plays Gregor Clegane auditioned for Khal Drogo
When you think of Khal Drogo you really can’t imagine anyone else playing Daenerys’ first love than Jason Momoa. His appearance as Khal Drogo is arguable iconic.
But, Conan, who was the first man to take on the role of Gregor aka the Mountain before Ian Whyte and Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson, actually auditioned for Khal Drogo just to put his name on the map.
According to What Culture, Gregor wasn’t in the pilot episode of Game Of Thones, so Conan read for the part of Khal Drogo at auditions in the hope that other parts would come up and producers would think of him.
Joe Dempsie – plays Gendry auditioned for Jon Snow
Joe might have initially had his heart set on playing Jon Snow, but he lucked out with the next best thing in the form of Gendry. Like Jon, Gendry is a bastard, to Robert Baratheon, and the duo end up teaming up, with Gendry falling for Jon’s little sister Ayra Stark.
Speaking to Left Lion, Joe revealed: ‘I initially auditioned for the part of Jon Snow, and obviously, didn’t get it. Down the line I got called in again for different roles.
‘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.” Eventually I auditioned for Gendry and I thought the initial audition went quite well, but the recall was probably one of the worst auditions I’d ever done.
‘I think it was just one of those things where they’d already decided before I went in for the second audition.’
It’s also been revealed that Richard Madden, who played Rob Stark, and Gethin Anthony, who played Renley Baratheon, both auditioned for multiple roles when first trying out for Game Of Thrones.
Speaking to Vanity Fair, casting director Nina Gold also revealed that Sean Bean, who played Ned Stark, and Peter Dinklage, who played Tyrion Lannister, never auditioned for the show because they were the ‘first and only picks’ for their respective roles.
‘We did have a nice lunch with Sean Bean,’ Gold joked.
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