17 actors you might not realize almost starred in 'Game of Thrones'

Tamzin Merchant played Daenerys Targaryen on the original, infamous pilot episode that was scrapped. After the showrunners went back to the drawing board, many roles were recast — including Emilia Clarke as the Mother of Dragons.

Earlier this year, Merchant revealed more about why she left the show in a new interview with Entertainment Weekly.

Though Merchant didn't specify whether she was ultimately the one who asked to be removed from the show, or if that was a decision from HBO's creative team, the actress says she did try to "back out" of the contract before she filmed any scenes.

"I tried to back out of that situation and, during the contract process, I did back out," Merchant said. "I was talked back into it by some persuasive people. Then I found myself naked and afraid in Morocco and riding a horse that was clearly much more excited to be there than I was."

"Hunger Games" actor Sam Claflin dropped out of the running because he had been offered a major movie role.

"I'm kind of glad [I didn't get the part]," Claflin told Cinema Blend. "I like getting into things like that [as a viewer] and not being a part, because I always find it's very jarring if I was part of it. But I'm a big fan."

Gillian Anderson told the Daily Mail that she has turned down roles on two beloved TV shows: "Game of Thrones" and "Downton Abbey."

"If I am going to be spending that amount of time working on something, I would rather be working with a director like Martin Scorsese," she said.

While she didn't specify which character she was offered, many fans speculate that it was Lena Headey's role of the murderous queen, Cersei Lannister.

Tricia Helfer revealed on Twitter that she auditioned for Cersei Lannister. And although she didn't land the part, she did become an avid reader and fan of George R. R. Martin's "A Song of Ice and Fire" series.

"I think my audition guaranteed that I wasn't almost on 'Game of Thrones.' That was one of the worst auditions of my life," Mahershala Ali revealed on ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live."

He said that he had memorized all his lines and prepared "power moves and stances" for the audition, but the backless stool he had to sit on in HBO's office threw him off. The casting director told him he was too "stiff."

"I got to the final two to play Lady Sansa Sark," Izzy Meikle-Small told The Telegraph in 2013. "I was a bit sad, because the show's massive, but I'm not that unhappy, because they all show a lot of flesh, don't they? I don't think my parents would be happy."

"Stupidly, I turned it down in the early days because they didn't pay enough money," Brian Cox told Vodzilla.co when the site asked him if he'd take a role on "Game of Thrones" back in 2016.

"Now they have more money," he continued. "And I was silly. I was silly, it was silly, because I'm a complete addict now."

"I lose parts to the weirdest people. It's kind of confusing," Jared Harris told Vulture.

The role of the High Sparrow, who played a large role on "Game of Thrones" seasons five and six, eventually went to Jonathan Pryce. Harris also revealed that he auditioned for Dr. Robert Ford on HBO's "Westworld," who's portrayed by Anthony Hopkins.

Jennifer Ehle told the Daily Beast that she left the role voluntarily after filming the pilot.

"My daughter was seven months old when we did the pilot," she said. "It was too soon for me to be working, emotionally and bonding-wise, but I needed to do it and I was also passionate about the books. I loved the idea of telling that story."

"I love 'Game of Thrones,' but it was too soon," she concluded. "I think everything worked out beautifully, because clearly the show is what it was meant to be."

Sam Heughan told Vulture he was nearly cast as Loras Tyrell, Renly Baratheon, and several members of the Night's Watch.

"I'd always get so close! I'd be like, 'Guys, just give me a sword!'" he revealed. "Everyone was going in for those parts."

Jamie Bamber has never addressed his reported "Game of Thrones" audition, but Jaime Lannister was a highly coveted role when HBO was casting the show. Nikolaj Coster-Waldau beat out many actors for the job.

"I was offered something on 'Game of Thrones' and unfortunately, I hadn't seen it, but my nephew and his father said, gosh, 'Game of Thrones' is the only great show on! And I felt terrible, because I'd just turned them down," Dominic West told HuffPost back in 2012.

While West couldn't remember the exact name of the character, he said it was a prominent role on season three and would've involved filming on location "in Reykjavik for six months," which is where "Game of Thrones" typically shot scenes north of the Wall.

Given this information, it's most likely West was offered the role of Mance Rayder, the King Beyond the Wall, which eventually went to Ciarán Hinds.

"It was a lovely part, a good part. I'm going to regret it," he said. "My problem is, I've got four kids, and at the moment, I'm reluctant to be away from home for a long time."

Although Ser Waymar Royce was a small part, he appears in the cold open of the series' very first episode. Jamie Campbell Bower originally portrayed the Night's Watch ranger, who was in charge of the mission that went deadly wrong.

In a blog post from that summer, author George R.R. Martin says Bower had signed onto a Starz series, "Camelot," by the time HBO was doing reshoots.

Yara Greyjoy's memorable debut on "Game of Thrones" involved an inappropriate reunion with her brother, Theon Greyjoy, who tried to seduce her (without knowing she was his sister).

Lily Allen revealed that she was offered the role, but couldn't bring herself to be in that scene with her real-life brother, Alfie Allen.

"They asked me if I'd be interested in playing Theon's sister," Allen said in a Reddit AMA. "I felt uncomfortable because I would have had to go on a horse and he would have touched me up and s---. Once they told me what was entailed, I said no thanks."

Although she characterized the offer as a "cameo" in 2014, Yara was one of the 37 characters who survived the whole series.

"I would love to do a 'Game of Thrones' cameo," Charlie Hunnam told The Sun in 2017. "They offered me a cameo on that show a little while ago, but I was shooting something else, so I wasn't able to do it. But maybe in the future, who knows."

Many fans speculate that Hunnam was offered the role of Daenerys Targaryen's brother and Jon Snow's real dad, Rhaegar Targaryen, who appeared in a flashback on the season seven finale.

Ian McNeice was originally cast as Illyrio Mopatis, a Magister of Pentos who housed and advised Viserys and Daenerys Targaryen throughout season one.

According to Bustle, McNeice was unable to film his scenes again because the pilot reshoots overlapped with his role as Winston Churchill on "Doctor Who."

In 2020, Netflix's "Stranger Things" breakout star Millie Bobby Brown told Jimmy Fallon about her rejection from "Game of Thrones."

"I was auditioning for commercials, anything really," Brown said. "I then auditioned for 'Game of Thrones' and I got a no for that. That's kind of when I was like, 'Oh, this is really difficult.'"

Brown had auditioned to play young Lyanna Mormont, a role which eventually went to young Bella Ramsey instead. And then of course Brown landed the part of Eleven in "Stranger Things," and her career skyrocketed.

For more "Game of Thrones" fun facts, read Insider's list of the nine characters that were recast midway through the show.