8 Actors Who Turned Down Game Of Thrones

6. Jamie Campbell Bower (Waymar Royce)

Gellert Grindelwald Harry Potter
Warner Bros. Pictures

Jamie Campbell Bower is no stranger to huge fantasy properties, having played young Grindelwald in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 (a role he reprised in Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald) and Caius in The Twilight Saga, so it makes sense he was almost in Game of Thrones.

Bower wasn't pegged for a long-running role, but he would've had the distinction of being the first person killed in the entire series, Ser Waymar Royce, the member of the Night's Watch who leads the ranging beyond the Wall and is killed by White Walkers in the pilot's opening moments.

The actor was part of the original pilot, but when it became clear extensive reshoots would be needed, he dropped out to focus on filming Starz's Camelot, despite the fact it was only a small role in Game of Thrones. Rob Ostlere took on the role, but in a case of things coming full circle, Campbell Bower has now been cast in one of the main roles in the Game of Thrones spin-off series currently in development.

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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.