Despite all the fame and grandeur, a lot of famous actors refused to be a part of the Game of Thrones. While some of them had good reasons, some had genuine reasons, but, some had really foolish reasons. Here we take a look at the biggest such names!
1. Charlie Hunnam – Rhaegar Targaryen
Charlie Hunnam (Sons of Anarchy) was among the names that figured on most fans’ wish list for the character of Jon Snow’s real father, Rhaegar Targaryen. It seems like HBO had contacted him to play the role of the flashback character in the seventh season.
“They offered me a cameo on that show a little while ago, but I was shooting something else, so I wasn’t able to do it, but maybe in the future, who knows?”
It might have been possible in the future, but, only if there was any future to the series since it is going to end next year. Maybe he is not aware of that.
2. Gillian Anderson – Cersei Lannister
Gillian Anderson is amazing, and she deserves to be offered a role in all the sci-fi/fantasy projects on every network. She even played a role of a government official who regularly saw aliens, on a little known Canadian show, during the 1990s, and it gave her a reputation.
Therefore, we pardon her for refusing to play Cersei Lannister.
As it turns out, her 18-year-old daughter was “absolutely dumbfounded” when she discovered that her mother could have played the coolest characters on the show.
“But with a 4- and 6-year-old,” Anderson said, “I can’t justify spending that kind of time away from home – unless I’m working with Martin Scorsese.”
In any case, she will always be a queen for the fans.
3. Dominic West – Mance Rayder
Well, West can relax. The role he turned down was a supporting role that demanded him to spend six months in freezing conditions, and he is also cast in The Wire, so even if he gave up acting, still he will be far ahead of all others for the next few centuries.
Yet, he is not consoled.
“I hadn’t seen it, but my nephew and his father said, ‘Gosh, Game of Thrones is the only great show on!’ I felt terrible.”
We suggest giving them a box-set of The Wire, and they will never complain again.
4. Lily Allen – Yara Greyjoy
Lily Allen has the most genuine reason for not being a part of Game of Thrones. The role she was offered required that she would have been ‘touched up’ by her brother.
“They asked me if I’d be interested in playing Theon’s sister,” Allen revealed during a Reddit Ask Me Anything session. “I felt uncomfortable because I would have had to go on a horse and he would have touched me up and shit. Once they told me what was entailed, I said no thanks.”
Seriously? What is the matter with the Game of Thrones showrunners?
5. Mark Strong – Stannis Baratheon
Strong has avoided commenting on his almost participation in Game of Thrones. However, there must be a good reason for that. According to reports, he refused to play the future king Stannis because he was interested in another series – Low Winter Sun, which got canceled after its opening season. Oops!
However, in case Strong had joined Game of Thrones, he might have missed out on Kingsman, and he did great job there. So, it ended well, we suppose.
6. Brian Cox – unknown
Brian Cox is a huge lesson – you can’t buy joy with money. Or a role in the biggest and most loved TV shows ever.
“Stupidly, I turned it down in the early days because they didn’t pay enough money,” he said. “Now they have more money. And I was silly. I was silly; it was silly because I’m a complete addict now. But I don’t know what I could play.”
“I just watched my friend Ian McShane, and I thought, ‘Ooh, Ian’s in it,’ so I settled down to watch him. And I thought, ‘Ian did that?’ and immediately I thought, ‘God, they must have paid him well,’ because I know Ian!” he joked.
“And there was Max von Sydow doing that character that he did, so in a way, it’s attracting certain people who do film, and, of course, I’ve got friends like Clive Russell and Liam Cunningham, and Charlie Dance is an old pal, being in it, and they had a great time in it.
“I’m still waiting for the call for Game of Thrones, and if they’ve got more decent money, I’ll be there!”
7. Ray Stevenson – unknown
Ray Stevenson has been on the wish list of geeks ever since he played Frank Castle/The Punisher in Lexi Alexander’s Punisher: War Zone and the character of Volstagg in Marvel’s Thor movies. He has also been a part of the costume drama Rome.
His profile makes him a great choice for Game of Thrones, which is exactly what he was offered, although, we have no idea which role he was approached for. However, Ray seemed to be upset at having been asked so late.
“I would rather have been cast at the beginning,” he said. “I think it’s wonderful, but it’s not something I would come onto at this point… Having already been seen at the beginning, I would rather have been involved in the growth of the show.”
