Top 10 Game of Thrones Character Recastings

The younger brother of Samwell Tarly and their father Randyll Tarly’s chosen heir, Dickon Tarly is generally everything his elder sibling is not, at least in the eyes of their father. During season 6, Dickon is played briefly by Freddie Stroma during Sam’s painfully awkward reunion with his family. Once Randyll and Dickon go to war next season though, Dickon’s actor is changed to Tom Hopper. It’s possible that Hopper highlights the differences between the two brothers better, given how admittedly handsome he is, but according to Stroma, it was simply a scheduling issue, as he was committed to “Time After Time” when the scenes were set to be shot.

One of the many progeny of the despicable Walder Frey, Lothar, often referred to as “Lame” is usually seen in the company of his brother “Black” Walder, and is generally less talkative than him. Maybe that’s why so many people overlooked this switch up. However, there’s no missing Lothar in the Red Wedding, which he essentially kickstarts when he stabs Robb Stark’s pregnant wife in the abdomen. He later returns along with Black Walder trying to end the siege of Riverrun – and failing quite badly at it. Initially played by Tom Brooke in season 3, when Lothar reappears three seasons later he’s portrayed by Daniel Tuite.

Head of House Karstark, distant relations of the Starks, and one of Robb’s bannermen, Rickard Karstark is a prominent member of the King in the North’s army. His narrative importance increases when he starts becoming more bitter and critical of Robb’s decisions, an attitude that’s partially motivated by the loss of two of his sons to the Lannisters. He takes his anger too far, however, when he kills two young Lannister prisoners; leading to his execution at Robb’s hands. Lord Karstark appears only briefly at the end of the first season, sporting a black beard, and he isn’t even named, but thereafter he’s played by John Stahl, who’s considerably more grey-haired.

The only daughter of Cersei Lannister and her brother Jaime, Princess Myrcella “Baratheon” is primarily a background character for most of her time on the show. During this time, she’s usually played by Aimee Richardson and is most notable for being much nicer than her elder brother Joffrey. However, when Myrcella’s life comes under threat while in Dorne, her actress was changed to the older Nell Tiger Free, presumably to match up with her love interest, a Dornish Prince. Aimee Richardson had a great reaction to her recasting though, posting a video of herself holding a sign reading “Princess for Hire.”

The charismatic leader of the Brotherhood Without Banners, a group dedicated to protecting civilians caught in Westeros’ wars, Beric Dondarrion is a seldom seen, but important character to the story. After all, he’s one of the few characters to have come back to life, and the only one brought back multiple times. Dondarrion begins his crusade to protect the innocent at the behest of Ned Stark, who charges him in the first season to bring the Mountain to justice, but it’s a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it appearance. Since the character’s return in season 3, he’s been played by Richard Dormer. The recasting seems likely to have been due to the presence Dormer brings to the character.

#5: Night King

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An ancient leader and the progenitor of the White Walkers, the Night King appears to be the greatest threat to Westeros, leading an army of icy creatures and reanimated dead to assail the continent and its many squabbling human houses. The Night King has appeared rarely over the years and the actors do have heavy makeup on, so you’d be forgiven for not noticing this recasting. Even so, the initial actor, Richard Brake, has a noticeably thinner face (one that launched a thousand memes). His replacement, Vladimir Furdik, also played the Night King prior to his transformation into a White Walker. Many fans point to this recasting as further proof of a popular theory that Bran Stark is the Night King, since the new actor looks shockingly similar to Isaac Hempstead Wright.

#4: Three-Eyed Raven

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An ancient Greenseer living beneath a tree, the Three-Eyed Raven is a mentor figure to Bran Stark. After appearing to him in dreams as a literal raven with three eyes, this aged character finally appears in the flesh beyond the Wall. His initial, wilder appearance during this meeting is closer to that of the books, and he’s portrayed by Struan Rodger. However, when the character next appears during his training of Bran to replace him, the Three-Eyed Raven, besides being played by the excellent Max von Sydow, he is much better kempt. We don’t mind a little deviation from the books though, since we get someone of von Sydow’s caliber.

The brother of Myrcella and the second of Cersei’s children to sit on the Iron Throne, Tommen “Baratheon,” like his sister, plays a relatively small role throughout the first part of the show. With the lion’s share of attention being focused on Joffrey, it was Callum Wharry who played the younger sibling. Upon his brother’s death though, Tommen gets brought to the forefront with his coronation, and he was consequently recast with a slightly older actor, Dean-Charles Chapman. Oddly enough, he actually had previous experience on the show playing another Lannister, Martyn, who’s actually Tommen’s first cousin, once removed in season 3. Like many of our prior entries, this was another case of a background character being recast when their importance to the plot increased.

The older brother of Sandor “The Hound” Clegane, Gregor is infamous throughout the Seven Kingdoms for his brutality and strength, and his role throughout the series as the de facto muscle of the Lannisters, particularly Cersei. The Mountain is unique among our entries, due to the fact that he is played by – not two, but three different actors! The first, Conan Stevens, appears only in season 1, the second, Ian Whyte, in season 2, and the third and final one from season 4 onwards. The change is a welcome one however, since they ended up casting the perfect actor to play the Mountain – Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson, who’s literally one of the world’s strongest men.

Leader of the Second Sons, a mercenary company, Daario Naharis is a skilled, charismatic fighter who quickly enlists with and falls for Daenerys Targaryen; eventually becoming one of her most trusted lieutenants. Daario’s recasting is definitely the most jarring, as he’s first played by Ed Skrein of “Deadpool” fame, rocking a kind of Fabio-esque look, and is portrayed the next season by Michiel Huisman, whose bearded look and shorter hair make for a strikingly different appearance. Still, neither one quite match his appearance in the books. Then again, there are likely few actors willing to dye their hair and beard blue…