18. Peter Dinklage Was Martin's First Choice, And Brought Lena Headey With Him
Casting for such a sprawling cast must've been a hell of a task for Benioff and Weiss. After all, unlike other shows which have to drop you in slowly and introduce characters in a measured, one-at-a-time fashion, Thrones assaulted you with a glut of characters in the first episode (we're only just getting used to the Starks when the entire Royal train, replete with Baratheon and Lannister bannermen turn up) and then again in the second episode, where we're ambushed with all the court's political animals. As such, the audition process was long and arduous for pretty much all the characters, especially the children and Daenerys Targaryen. While Emilia Clarke's journey to becoming the Khaleesi is interesting enough in itself The Tudors' Tamzin Merchant was originally cast, before being replaced with a fresh-out-of-drama-school Clarke who couldn't showcase Dany's violet eyes on account of contact lenses' irritation limiting her acting ability had nothing on Peter Dinklage. Basically, the casting call for Tyrion Lannister was unique insofar as it only featured Dinklage and no others. Apparently, Martin had eyes for no-one else but the diminutive actor, believing him to be perfect for the role. He wasn't wrong either Dinklage smashed his audition out the park and picked up an Emmy and a Golden Globe for his portrayal of the Half-Man. Also, Dinklage's casting helped the team pick up the excellent Lena Headey as Cersei Lannister, on account ofthe actors being very good friends in real life. Sometimes, it pays to have the writer meddle with the casting.