Small Council: You can recast one actor from Game of Thrones—Who would it be and why?

Game of Thrones is justly lauded for its casting, but other options existed. Today, we’re going to have a little exercise: pick one member of the cast and replace them with a different actor, and explain why you chose who you did. Tell us your picks in the comments!

COREY: Go big or go home, right? I’m going straight to one of the main characters: Daenerys Targaryen. My choice here is a bit motivated by ambivalent feelings towards Emilia Clarke, and some wishful thinking. Clarke is a serviceable Daenerys, but I feel she tends to overact. She’s not terrible, but neither is she as amazing as the likes of Peter Dinklage, Lena Headey or Charles Dance. So who might replace her?

My choice would be Emily Blunt. Yes, age would be a problem. Blunt is 34 years old and could have trouble inhabiting the young Daenerys, but Clarke is only 4 years younger. Surely producers could figure that out.

Setting that aside, I feel like Blunt could carry the role with more strength and fury than Clarke has been able to do so far, minus the overacting. Bonus points to Blunt for being English, just like Clarke.

Blunt’s warrior roles in Sicario and Edge of Tomorrow demonstrate an inner strength that would translate well to Daenerys, especially after the character finds her footing in the later seasons. Blunt also displays the softer side needed for Dany’s quiet moments in films like Looper and The Adjustment Bureau. Blunt’s range would suit a varied character like Dany, and it would be fun to see her light up the small screen the way she does the big one.

Plus, thanks to The Huntsman: Winter’s War, we already know she looks good in a white wig. At least from what I see online. That movie looked terrible.

DAN: By and large, the Game of Thrones casting department — headed by casting director Nina Gold — does a wonderful job. I think even the show’s detractors acknowledge that. But there have been a few missteps along the way, particularly when it comes to recasts. For example, I prefer the first actor who played the Mountain — Conan Stevens — to Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson, who plays him now. Björnsson is plenty physically intimidating but looks too young for the role (although I concede that as long as they keep him under a helmet this isn’t really an issue).

I also preferred the first Daario Naharis to the second one. Ed Skrein left the role after season 3 and the show brought in Michiel Huisman to replace him. Huisman is a fine actor — probably better than Skrein, to be honest — but he didn’t have Skrein’s matinee good looks or arrogant swagger. Watching Huisman play Daario, I could see the character’s thought process, and I’m not sure that’s a good thing. As described in the books, Daario is flatter than that: dangerous and wanton, but not deep. I think Skrein pulled that off better — in a weird way, his more limited range was an asset.

So my first choice would be to have kept Skrein as Daario. But because we’re recasting people, let’s shoot for the stars: have Michael Fassbender play him. Best known for playing Magneto in the new X-Men movies, Fassbender has a smoldering quality that would work well for a force of nature like Daario — imagine him turning in a version of his sexually charged performance in Shame minus all the…well, shame. As an Oscar nominee (for 12 Years A Slave and Steve Jobs), he’s overqualified for the role, but what’s the point in dream casting if we can’t make ridiculous requests?

I also have a thought on the Sand Snakes, really quick. It would take a lot more than casting changes to fix what’s wrong with those characters, but doesn’t Keisha Castle-Hughes (Obara Sand) look a lot more like Indira Varma (Ellaria Sand) than Rosabell Laurenti Sellers, who plays Ellaria’s daughter Tyene Sand on the show? I know they were casting on more than looks, but still, they’re dead ringers.

RICHARD: How about we flip the Littlefinger? I’m nominating Steve Buscemi as Peter Baelish. Why? Because it would rock. I have no problem with Aidan Gillen’s subtle, gravel-voiced portrayal of the character, but Buscemi would be an entirely different kind of fish. His Littlefinger would be far more frenetic, openly combative and an accomplished Small Council whiner. On the surface, he’d seem less effective and manipulative than Gillen’s take, but beneath his petty tirades, he’d be as quick and deadly as an asp.

And who wouldn’t want to see a small council scene where Buscemi gets as indignant as he does in Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs? Consider, for a moment, the somewhat adjusted-for-Game of Thrones scene below, as Tywin gets the members up to speed on their aliases (I’d nominate Christopher Walken as Tywin, by the way):

"Littlefinger (Buscemi/Mr. Pink): “Hey, why am I Mr. Pink?”Tywin Lannister (Joe): “Because you’re a brothel keeper.”Littlefinger: “Why can’t we pick our own colors?”Tywin: “No way, no way. Tried it once, it doesn’t work. You get four guys all fighting over who’s gonna be Mr. Black, but they don’t know each other, so nobody wants to back down. No way. I pick. The Hound is Mr. Black. You’re Mr. Pink. Be thankful you’re not Mr. Yellow. That’s for the Dornishman.”Tyrion Lannister (Mr. Brown): “Yeah, but Mr. Brown, that’s a little too close to Mr. Shit.”Littlefinger: “Mr. Pink sounds like Mr. Pussy. How ’bout if I’m Mr. Purple? That sounds good to me. I’ll be Mr. Purple.”Tywin: “You’re not Mr. Purple. Some guy on some other job is Mr. Purple. You’re Mr. PINK.”Varys (Mr. White): “Who cares what your name is?”Littlefinger: “Yeah, that’s easy for your to say, you’re Mr. White. You have a cool-sounding name. Alright look, if it’s no big deal to be Mr. Pink, do you wanna trade?”Tywin: “Hey! Nobody’s trading with anybody. This ain’t a goddamn Braavosi city council meeting, you know. Now listen up, Mr. Pink. There’s two ways you can go on this job: my way or the Volantene highway. Now what’s it gonna be, Mr. Pink?”Littlefinger: “By the old gods and the new, Tywin, forget about it. It’s beneath me. I’m Mr. Pink. Let’s move on.”"

And who wouldn’t love to see the world’s smallest violin make repeatedly aggravating appearances at the Small Council?

SARAH: I see Richard beat me to the punch with Littlefinger, although he’s a lot kinder than I am. I’m very vocal in my disdain for Aidan Gillen’s acting ability, in that I think it’s virtually nonexistent.

It’s not that Gillen is bad at playing a creepy, villainous character like Petyr Baelish. In fact, he embodies the spirit of the character quite well. The problem is, he can’t seem to recite his lines in a way that seems natural or unforced, and this lends him the air of a pantomime villain, which really sours the character for me. I didn’t notice how poorly his dialogue was executed until my brother pointed it out while we were watching the show, and now I can’t un-notice it. Thanks, Dean.

In any case, I’m still going to offer my two cents on the Littlefinger-who-could-have-been. In researching the actor who sprung to mind when I first considered this topic, the excellent Tom Hollander, I was delighted to discover that he had actually been offered the role before Gillen. Then, I was less delighted, because of course, he turned it down.

Anyone who has seen Tom Hollander in Rev, The Night Manager or 2005’s Pride and Prejudice (hell, even in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies) can agree that he’s a versatile actor. He has a magnetic presence — I’ve never watched a movie he was in and not found myself focused on him — as well as the ability to unnerve the audience with one look. He can be, in turn, creepy, devious, charming, enigmatic, cruel and calculated. And just listen to that voice.

In spite of his successful machinations and multiple betrayals, I can’t take Petyr Baelish seriously, which is a shame, because he is one of the most worrisome characters in the original novels. And I can’t help but feel that a lot of what makes Petyr so frightening is lost in Gillen’s campy performance. If only Hollander had taken the role, I believe he could have added the gravitas that Littlefinger so badly needs.

RAZOR: I am legitimately impressed by Richard’s dedication in keeping with Steve Buscemi as Peter Baelish because, without the Reservoir Dogs dialogue, I simply don’t see it.

Anyway, for my pick, I’m choosing to recast the role of Melisandre. Let me first say that that I think Carice van Houten has been amazing as the Red Priestess. And overall, I think Nina Gold has done an amazing job at filling what seems to be a difficult cast of characters. But, were I to choose a different actress for Melisandre, I would go with Eva Green, best known for her work in Penny Dreadful, where she plays Vanessa Ives, a woman haunted by Dracula and his minions, and often times, the devil himself.

Besides her work on that show, Green played Morgan Pendragon on Camelot, which, unfortunately for that show, aired on Starz at the same time Game of Thrones premiered on HBO. She’s been in several films, like Kingdom of Heaven, and when looking at her, one can’t help but get the feeling that she simply exudes sorcery wherever she goes. She just has that look. Eva Green was born to play roles like Melisandre, so if there ever were a possible recast, she would be the odds-on favorite, in my mind.

Usually, we add a poll at the end of our weekly Small Council post, but with a topic so broad, we will leave it in your capable hands. What role would you recast? Let’s discuss!