Game of Thrones is a beloved fantasy show with a very rabid fan base. Rarely does a TV show inspire such loyalty or hatred for the characters in its narrative. The casting is a big part of this and as any fans of the book will testify, overall the show has done a great job with this. Obviously this wasn't the first role for many of the actors and some of their past performances can seem rather jarring when thinking of them parallel to their character in the adaptation R.R. Martin's novels. The first thing to note in writing this is that I use the term 'ruin' loosely. Game of Thrones is a serious, dark fantasy and it's just humorous to dig into the past of its actors and find roles that undermine their current character when put side by side. A lot of the actors who portray our favourite Thrones characters have varied careers to say the least. I tried to get a good cross section of the cast into here and I was genuinely surprised by some of the things I found out when researching the feature. From absurd comedic roles for serious thespians to young actors who had to star in Syfy dross before reaching the lofty heights of HBO, you may know of some of these roles but I'm sure some will surprise you. Minor plot
SPOILERS for Game of Thrones and the other films the actors have featured in.
Honourable Mention: Jerome Flynn
GoT Role: Bronn
Past Role: Robson & Jerome Bronn is one of the resident badass characters of Westeros. He's a hard-drinking mercenary who speaks his mind and someone it's best to be on the good side of. The role is played to a tee by Jerome Flynn, who captures both the laidback attitude and the feral rage of the character. From his first moment on screen he was a fan favourite and rightly so. Looking back a fair few years however, we find him as half of the pop duo Robson & Jerome. I haven't included this in the main countdown as it more of a career shift than a role change. As badass as Bronn is, after listening to Jerome Flynn and Robson Green crooning What Becomes Of The Broken Hearted, it becomes a little bit harder to take him seriously. Recently Flynn has found relative TV fame on Thrones and Ripper Street, putting his pop music past behind him. Unfortunately for him that doesn't mean it's forgotten.