Game of Thrones season eight recently brought the franchise to an end after almost a decade on HBO. Across the seasons, there were a number of major storylines explored, including Myrcella Baratheon who was tragically killed in season five. However, before her fateful death scene, she was actually played by two different actors.
Why was Myrcella Baratheon recast in Game of Thrones?
Myrcella Baratheon was Cersei Lannister’s (played by Lena Headey) only daughter in the fantasy series.
The princess was first introduced in season one when she was being brought up in King’s Landing.
She was thought to be the daughter of King Robert Baratheon (Mark Addy) but was actually the daughter of her uncle Jaime Lannister (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) like her brothers.
In the first two seasons of the show she was played by actor Aimee Richardson.
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Game of Thrones: Why was Myrcella Baratheon recast in the series? (Image: HBO)
However, when she returned for season five, she was played by another actor named Nell Tiger Free.
This was when she was sent away to Dorne in order to form a marriage alliance with House Martell.
She was married to Trystane Martell (Toby Sebastian) who she had fallen in love with over the course of their betrothal.
Her storyline took a tragic turn towards the end of season five when she was murdered by Ellaria Sand (Indira Varma) as revenge for the Lannisters’ part in Oberyn Martell’s (Pedro Pascal) death.
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Game of Thrones: Nell Tiger Free played her in season 5 (Image: GETTY)
Ellaria killed her by kissing her after coating a fatal poison on her lips and she then died in her father/uncle Jaime’s arms.
Many fans wondered why she was recast when she returned later in the series.
The creators never gave a specific reason for this but it seems they decided to give the role to another actor.
Richardson appeared in a total of eight episodes before she reportedly learned the news during a San Diego Comic-Con panel.
The actor then took a Vine of herself holding the sign “Princess for hire” in the wake of the news.
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Game of Thrones: The character was originally played by Aimee Richardson (Image: HBO)
Following the recasting, Tiger Free spoke to Vulture about whether she saw the sign.
She said: “I saw that! And I thought it was really funny! And a really humble way to take it.
“Because I know if I was in her position, I would be upset, too, and I wouldn’t be able to handle it with humour. And she did, brilliantly.”
She also spoke about how while the pair haven’t met, she was touched by how kind Richardson was to her.
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Game of Thrones: What happened to Myrcella Baratheon? (Image: HBO)
She added: “The night the first stills were released of me at the premiere, Aimee mentioned me in a tweet.
“She said that I looked really pretty and that she was sure that I’d make a great Myrcella, and I said thank you.
“She seems like a really, really sweet girl, and she’s not been bitter or rude in the slightest. ”
This was also not the first time actors were recast in the series.
Another notable example was Night King who was played by Richard Brake in season four and five before being played by stuntman Vladimir Furdik in seasons six to eight.
Just as with Myrcella, there was no official reason revealed why this was.
Game of Thrones seasons 1-8 are available to buy on Amazon Prime.
