10 Actors Who Turned Down The Decade's Biggest TV Shows

9. Dominic West - Mance Rayder (Game Of Thrones)

In a 2012 interview with the Huffington Post, The Wire's Dominic West confirmed that he had been offered a part on HBO's hit show Game of Thrones, and though he didn't specify the role due to being unable to remember the name, online sleuths have been able to deduce pretty safely that it would have been Mance Rayder, the so-called King Beyond the Wall eventually played by Ciaran Hinds, though having appeared for just four episodes so far. Why did West turn it down? Because shooting would apparently have required him to be "in Reykjavik for six months", a claim that's difficult to believe given how minor Rayder's role has been so far, though when we consider West's elaboration that he needed to be in London for the sake of his young children, his turning the part down at least makes sense. Would It Have Worked? Absolutely. West is a world-class actor and would have nailed the part. That said, Hinds is also a snug fit for the part, so we have no regrets.