8 Actors Who Turned Down Game Of Thrones

They probably have some regrets.

Gillian Anderson Cersei Lannister
Fox/HBO

Game of Thrones is now the biggest TV show in the world, and one of the main reasons for its success is the quality of its casting, from key players like Jon Snow and Cersei Lannister, right down to background figures like Night's Watch Brother #3 and corpse #17.

The show has a number of qualities of course, from the insane production values to its great writing, the epic battles and shocking deaths to the political machinations and manoeuvrings, but none of it would work without the right actors in place to carry it all off.

The show has gone through a number of changes over the years: Daario Naharis has been played by two different actors, The Mountain has been portrayed by three people in total, and a number of principal cast members were changed after the failed pilot episode, but mostly due to scheduling conflicts or things just not quite working out.

After all, this is a TV show unlike any other - who would be daft enough to turn it down? Well, as it turns out, quite a number of people.

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NCTJ-qualified journalist. Most definitely not a racing driver. Drink too much tea; eat too much peanut butter; watch too much TV. Sadly only the latter paying off so far. A mix of wise-old man in a young man's body with a child-like wonder about him and a great otherworldly sensibility.