'Game of Thrones' actress Natalie Dormer originally auditioned for a completely different role on the show
Natalie Dormer may play the calculating and confident Margaery Tyrell on "Game of Thrones," but that nearly wasn't the case.
At a New York Comic Con panel Thursday afternoon the actress revealed she originally auditioned for the role of another character on HBO's hit show.
It all started when a fan asked whether Dormer took inspiration from her prior regal role in "The Tudors" to help inform her "Game of Thrones" character.
"I was worried about playing Maergery Tyrell because I didn't want a play a Queen thrown in jail again," said Dormer. "But what happened was I watched the first season of 'Game of Thornes' and I was absolutely blown away by it."
After a major character death, Dormer admits she was hooked.
"And then when I knew there was an audition, I auditioned for another role in 'Game of Thrones,' and I will never say what that is until the series is over," Dormer continued. "So, I went in for a character that was that was not a queen that was going to get thrown in jail and I didn't get that role. It was given to another actress."
However, Dormer said "Game of Thrones" show creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss liked her so much they approached her to see if she was interested in another role — that of Tyrell.
Having played a regal role in "The Tudors" concerned Dormer.
"I'm worried about that because I feel that I've done that gig," she recalled.
After assuring Dormer she'd be playing a different role, she admits she was still nervous about taking on the part of Margaery, but says it was ultimately fans who helped her be comfortable.
"It's only you guys — it's fans over the years — who have come up to me and said, 'Don't worry, you did all right," she added saying she can see the differences in the roles. "Now, that I look back, because I played Anne for two years and I've played Margaery for five, I think of Anne as fire and I think of Margaery as cool, like ice. So I'm ice and fire. See what I did there?" Dormer joked, referencing the book in the series, "A Song of Ice and Fire."
Though Dormer's tight-lipped to reveal which character she originally auditioned for, we're guessing it was Melisandre, the red priestess of R'hllor since she was one of the big female roles introduced in season two along with Margaery.
