Long before the first season of Game of Thrones aired, author George R.R. Martin had a clear picture of who should play two of the most important characters in the world of Westeros. While the show became famous for discovering fresh talent and putting actors through extensive audition processes, two roles were cast without a single audition tape being recorded. Martin knew exactly who he wanted, and he made sure to get them.
The show ran for eight seasons from 2011 to 2019 and turned relatively unknown actors into global stars. But for the roles of Ned Stark and Tyrion Lannister, there was never any doubt. Martin and the show’s creators, David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, agreed from their very first meeting that Sean Bean and Peter Dinklage were the only choices.
George R.R. Martin Knew Sean Bean and Peter Dinklage Were Perfect From Day One
The casting process for Game of Thrones was massive. Auditions took place across London, Dublin, Belfast, New York, and even Australia. Hundreds of actors read for various parts. But for Tyrion Lannister, there were no auditions at all.
Martin shared the story during an interview with TIFF, explaining that when he first sat down with Benioff and Weiss to discuss adapting his books, they played what he called the “casting game.” They talked about who they liked and who would be right for each character. When they got to Tyrion, the conversation stopped.
“For Tyrion, Peter Dinklage, that was the one role where we didn’t audition anybody. We didn’t read anybody. There are no tapes of other people reading Tyrion’s roles that will ever surface anywhere because we made no auditions,” Martin said.
The team decided they had to get Dinklage. They made him an offer directly and convinced him to take the role. That decision worked out better than anyone could have expected. Dinklage went on to win multiple awards for his performance, including an Emmy and a Golden Globe.
Sean Bean’s casting was slightly different. Martin also wanted Bean for Ned Stark from the very beginning, calling him “perfect” for the role. The casting team did look at a few other options, just in case they could not secure Bean. But the plan was always to get him, and they succeeded.
“There were 2 roles that we knew that Sean Bean would be perfect for Ned Stark and he was great and for Tyrion, Peter Dinklage. That was the one role where we didn’t audition anybody…” – George R.R. Martin
A Dream Cast From 1996 That Never Happened
Martin’s certainty about Bean and Dinklage actually went back much further. In a resurfaced on-stage interview, he revealed that back in 1996, when the first book was published, people would ask him who he would want to play his characters if the books became movies.
He had a “dream casting” in his mind at that time. But by the time the show actually went into production years later, many of those actors had aged and were no longer right for the parts they would have played.
That did not happen with Bean and Dinklage. When production finally started, they were still the perfect choices.
The Challenge of Casting the Rest of the Cast
While Tyrion and Ned were easy picks, every other role required a worldwide search. Martin admitted that casting the child actors was particularly difficult. The team looked at hundreds of young actors for the three major children’s roles.
Most child actors who auditioned either simply memorized their lines without showing real emotion or overacted to the point where it looked unnatural. Martin described reaching a point of despair, wondering if they would ever find the right kids for the parts.
Then Maisie Williams walked in to audition for Arya Stark. Martin said that from the moment he saw her audition, he knew she was their Arya. She was exactly what they had been searching for. Similar breakthroughs happened with Sophie Turner for Sansa and Isaac Hempstead Wright for Bran.
Other famous actors also tried out for Game of Thrones roles but did not make the cut. Sam Heughan from Outlander auditioned for seven different parts, including Loras Tyrell and Renly Baratheon. Sam Claflin tried out for Jon Snow and Viserys Targaryen. Mahershala Ali, who later won Oscars for Moonlight and Green Book, auditioned for the role of Xaro Xhoan Daxos before season 2 and later called it one of the worst auditions of his life.
Martin’s Connection to Tyrion Lannister
Of all the characters in his books, Martin has a special connection to Tyrion. In a 2016 interview, he shared that while all his viewpoint characters contain pieces of him, Tyrion is the character he would like to be.
“I’ve always had a great deal of affection for Tyrion. I think Tyrion is probably who I would like to be. Sam is probably closer to who I actually am,” Martin said.
He explained that he is not naturally as witty as Tyrion. While he writes all of Tyrion’s clever lines, it takes him time to come up with them. In real life, he often thinks of the perfect comeback days later.
Martin also noted that Dinklage does not perfectly match the book description of Tyrion. In the books, Tyrion is shorter than Dinklage and less attractive. But Martin said those differences do not matter because Dinklage fully inhabited the character and made it his own.
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Why Martin Regrets Casting So Many Unknown Actors
While the casting of Bean and Dinklage worked perfectly, Martin recently admitted that hiring so many unknown actors for the rest of the roles had an unexpected downside.
During an event at the Oxford Writers’ House, Martin explained that because most of the cast were not famous when the show started, HBO used him for publicity. His face ended up everywhere, and he became a celebrity himself, which he never wanted.
“I probably did make a mistake when we got ‘Game of Thrones’ going as a TV show. We were using a lot of unknown actors, so they did a lot of publicity with me. That really got my face out there, which wasn’t necessarily the greatest thing in the world,” Martin said.
Despite that regret, he stands by the casting of Dinklage and Bean as two decisions he got completely right from the very beginning.
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