Succession star Brian Cox has explained why he rejected the opportunity to play Robert Baratheon in Game of Thrones.
Regaling readers with tales from across his acclaimed career – including credits in Troy, the ’80s movie Manhunter and Zodiac, to name just a few – Cox’s autobiography Putting the Rabbit in the Hat features a section on this very subject.
HBO
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“I’m often asked if I was offered a role in Game of Thrones – reason being that every other bugger was – and the answer is, yes, I was supposed to be a king called Robert Baratheon, who apparently died when he was gored by a boar in the first season,” he writes, in an excerpt from the book shared by GQ.
“I know very little about Game of Thrones so I can’t tell you whether or not he was an important character, and I’m not going to Google it just in case he was, because I turned it down. Why? Well, Game of Thrones went on to be a huge success and everybody involved earned an absolute fortune, of course.
“But when it was originally offered the money was not all that great, shall we say. Plus I was going to be killed off fairly early on, so I wouldn’t have had any of the benefits of the long-term effects of a successful series where your wages go up with each passing season. So I passed on it, and Mark Addy was gored by the boar instead. (I lied. I did google it.) “
Altogether, Addy appeared in seven episodes as The Stag King before Robert met his maker.
HBO
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That isn’t the first instance where Cox recalled rejecting the role, either, as back in 2016 he also lamented the show’s early lack of funding and said he “stupidly” turned down the part.
At the time, he also remarked that the show was “truly astonishing”, and quipped that he was “waiting for the call” if show bosses were interested in having him join the cast.
Game of Thrones seasons 1-8 are available on DVD and Blu-ray. Spin-off House of the Dragon is now filming and will premiere in 2022.
Putting the Rabbit in the Hat by Brian Cox is available from retailers including Amazon, bookshop.org, Foyles, Hive, Waterstones and WHSmith.
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