No, this is NOT a post about Fringe.
There are many roles on hit TV
shows that were rejected by famous actors. Sometimes producers recast parts
many times before they start shooting and occasionally actors are replaced even
after the pilot has been shot.
All these situations leave us
wondering how the shows we love could have turned out … so that is what I am
talking about when I say ‘Alternate reality’
Let’s see what actors ‘almost’
took over some of the most iconic characters on TV.
Character: Daenerys
Targaryen Game of Thrones
The original Daenerys was Tamzin
Merchant, who you may remember as King Henry VIII’s wife on The Tudors. Tamzin left the project for
‘unknown’ reasons, but from everything I’ve read I got the feeling that it was
not her decision. Tamzin was later replaced by Emilia Clarke who will forever
be remembered as the Khalessi of Vas Dotrhak. Yes, Emilia Clarke was a virtual
nobody before Game of Thrones but I
cannot possibly imagine anyone more perfect for the part. This recast was
probably a great decision. I never heard of Emilia before, yet I knew a lot of
Tamzin’s work. I believe Tamzin is an OK actress and she was very good in some
of the roles I’ve seen her play. However she does not have the commanding
presence and depth of Emilia. From being an unknown actress Emilia Clarke has
become a fan favorite. Daenerys is certainly my favorite character (after
Tyrion and Arya that is).
Character: Sawyer
(James Ford) Lost
Lost is probably the show where most actors originally auditioned
for different characters. I could probably do an entire post about it. Mainly everybody
wanted to be Sawyer. And I mean everybody! Mathew Fow, Jorge Garcia and Dominic Monaghan all
auditioned to play Sawyer… which makes me think that the casting call for Sawyer
was seriously vague. It is hard to imagine how it could have been because we
think of those actors as the characters they ended up playing. But if you watch
all the audition tapes it is crystal clear why Josh Holloway got the role. He
absolutely killed the audition like none of the other actors did. You just
can’t out-sass Sawyer!
Character: Susan
Mayer Desperate Housewives
The role that gave Teri Hatcher
her big comeback was previously offered to Calista Flockhart. Lucky for Terri,
Calista declined. A couple of years later she returned to TV on another ABC
show Brothers and Sisters. So,
Calista, A.K.A Ally McBeal/Mrs. Harrison Ford… was almost Susan Mayer. I
actually can see it happening. Calista does the neurotic –slightly crazy very
well as we know from her years in Ally. However I do think Terri has a sweetness
(sometimes too much) that Calista doesn’t have.
I guess the character would have developed in a different way. I can see
Calista playing a stronger version of Susan (if equally cooky). I could go
either way with this one. I guess I wasn’t too attached to the Susan character
to care too much. However I wouldn’t dare of replacing Bree (She was almost
played by Dana Delany BTW).
Character: Dr. Derek
Mc Dreamy Sheppard Grey’s Anatomy
The first choice for McDreamy was
actually Rob Lowe (Isaiah Washington also auditioned). And you can see why… he
is pretty dreamy. However, he turned down the show to be the leading characters
of another show Dr. Vegas… remember that show? Yeah… nobody does. Needless to
say, Rob Lowe may have made a mistake on this one. Like Calista he also ended
up on Brothers and Sisters. I think
Rob would have been a very good fit for the role. I can easily imagine him as
the handsome doctor; however I think I prefer Patrick Dempsey. He is equally
handsome, but he has sweetness where Rob has cockiness. So I think they ended
up with the better choice here.
Don Draper Mad Men
They didn’t offer the role to Jon
Hamm right away because they thought he wasn’t “sexy enough”… yeah, I am going
to give you a moment to process and laugh at that… So, who was sexy enough?
According to the casting directors: Thomas Jane. They offered him the role of
Don Draper, but he declined because he ‘didn’t do TV’. I don’t really know what
Thomas Jane did back then. I know the guy but I just can’t think of a single
movie he was in. Incidentally he later did a TV show Hung, which only lasted for 2 seasons and was nowhere near as big
as Mad Men. I guess I could see
Thomas as Don, I do think he is good looking and interesting. I could have
watched that. But… Jon Hamm is a million times better. I believe he is a better
actor than Jane, he has a more understated style and yes… he is better looking
and sexier. Where Thomas would have been an adequate Don, Jon reached iconic status
and made Don Draper one of the most recognizable characters in TV history.
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