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‘Game Of Thrones’ Turned Down Oscar Winner Mahershala Ali, And Other Juicy Secrets From The Show

By Bernadette Giacomazzo
Published on: 01:44 PST, Jul 12, 2017

With, literally, just days to go before the penultimate season premiere of Game of Thrones, secrets from the hit HBO show have been leaking to the press in bits and pieces. But now, one of the most shocking secrets from the show is that there was a certain actor that tried out for Game of Thrones, but ultimately got turned down.

That actor, of course, would go on to win an Oscar for his role in Moonlight.

And if it seems shocking that Game of Thrones would turn down Mahershala Ali, Nina Gold — the long-time casting director — told The Independent that, while she’s seen many actors come through her door over the years, the one actor she regrets not casting is Ali.

“Now, she can’t help feeling a little regret considering Ali is one of the most in-demand actors around, telling Vanity Fair: “Wow, how could I have ever turned down Mahershala Ali?” (in fairness to Anozie, she deemed him “bloody great”).”

Ali said that his audition for Xaro Xhoan Daxos — the role which went to Anozie — was “one of the worst of his life.”

There are other actors, in the past, that auditioned for Game of Thrones roles and didn’t get them, yet went on to do other great things. For example, Sam Heughan — who auditioned for the part of Loras — didn’t get the role he tried out for, but went on to do great work as Jamie Fraser on Outlander. Interestingly, Tobias Menzies — Heughan’s Outlander co-star, who plays the dual role of Frank Randall and Black Jack Randall — tried out for the show and got the part of Edmure Tully, who’s a recurring character on the show and played an integral part in the so-called “Red Wedding.”

In Game of Thrones, we’re in the timeline where Cersei Lannister sits on the Iron Throne and rules Westeros (even though she stepped over the body of her son, Tommen, to do so). But according to Time Magazine, even though Lena Headey — the actress who plays Cersei — is set to be on the show for the remainder of the time it’s on the air, we’ll be seeing a different side of Cersei in the seasons to come.

In other words, her hubris — which helped her achieve the Iron Throne — will be her undoing.

And even Lena Headey agrees.

“With Tommen, obviously, it was not really until last year that we realized the prophecy from the witch about Cersei losing her children and being usurped by a beautiful younger queen—she’s, besides all the stuff that’s haunted her her whole life, her family, her father, her mother’s death, Tyrion, the relationship with Jaime—she’s always believed that she’s going to lose the children she has. And I think when Tommen goes, her last child, it’s almost… a relief for her, that it’s over. Some awful thing hanging over your head and then finally… it happens. And there’s a relief. And this season we’ll see her dealing with her grief.”

There will also be some MIA characters that may be returning to Game of Thrones this season, according to The Ringer.

In addition to Gendry (who we last saw on a rowboat 30 episodes ago) potentially making his return, Nymeria — Arya Stark’s direwolf — will possibly be making a return appearance.

“In the books, we know Nymeria is in that area, at the head of a pack of wolves. Arya frequently dreams as Nymeria, prowling the Riverlands in the same way Bran dreamed of inhabiting Summer before he fully understood his abilities as a Warg. And reports have trickled through Westeros of a pack of wolves?—?possibly numbering in the hundreds?—?with a she-wolf leader near Riverrun and the Trident. Who else could this be but Nymeria?”

What do you think of these latest Game of Thrones spoilers and reports? Will you be tuning into the season premiere?

Leave your thoughts about Game of Thrones in the comments below.

[Featured Image by HBO]

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