For many fans of HBO’s epic fantasy series, Game of Thrones, Jaime Lannister is synonymous with the actor who played him through eight seasons. However, had things played out differently, Knightfall‘s Padraic Delaney could have been Jaime instead of Nikolaj Coster-Waldau.
According to a recent interview Delaney did with Ireland’s Independent, he was offered the chance to audition for Jaime Lannister but had to turn it down due to work commitments. At the time, he was on the jury for a film festival being held in Turkey.
As Delaney explains, the auditioning process for Jaime involved a small group of actors that had been selected by HBO. So, to be asked was a great honor. Although, at the time, it was an unknown series and there was no guarantee it would draw in audiences even though it had a fairly large book fan base.
“They called me and said, ‘Padraic, there are two guys here and they’re only seeing five or six people for this new TV show and they want you to read for the part of Jaime Lannister.’”
While Padraic was keen to audition, he was in Turkey, so he offered to send in a video audition. Unfortunately, this was not acceptable at the time and Padraic had to turn down the opportunity to try out for the role in Game of Thrones. As a result of this, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau was later cast in the role of Jaime Lannister.
It was suggested that Padraic could be offered further roles down the track in the hit TV series but that never eventuated.
Magnolia Pictures
However, it didn’t mean that his association with Jaime Lannister would stop there. In a strange turn of events, Delaney ended up being cast alongside Nikolaj Coster-Waldau in Blackthorn. In this movie, Delaney was cast in the flashback scenes of a young Sundance Kid. Alongside him was Coster-Waldau as a younger version of Butch Cassidy.
When Nikolaj commented on being cast as Jaime Lannister — and having filmed the first season of Game of Thrones — Padraic instantly responded.
“I was meant to audition for that role!” Padriac exclaimed.
While Padriac may have missed out on some Game of Thrones fame, he later joined the cast of History Channel’s Knightfall as Gawaine, a Templar Knight who struggles with his own identity after being injured in the line of duty.
Currently, the historical drama series, Knightfall, has concluded its second season. It stars Tom Cullen in the lead role of Landry, a Templar who was at first an ally of King Philip IV of France but later became a foe to the king. Season 2 also saw the addition of Star Wars legend, Mark Hamill, as Talus.
