7 foot tall Australian actor/bodybuilder Conan Stevens recently posted on his blog that he has lined up an audition in an American TV series. He doesn’t mention Game of Thrones specifically but he has expressed an interest in the project before. Also, a commenter with a reliable source, has stated that Stevens is, in fact, referring to Thrones in this post.
"I am unable to write any details at this stage but my Acting Agent in Australia, has managed to secure an audition for the pilot of an upcoming American TV series, in a role that could be very suitable for me."
Winter Is Coming: Well this is interesting. If the rumor is true, and he is actually auditioning for Game of Thrones that means one of three things: 1) he is auditioning for the pilot as Drogo, 2) he is auditioning for the pilot which was rewritten to include Gregor (or Hodor) or 3) he is auditioning for the series as Gregor.
In my opinion, option 1 seems unlikely since we know they are looking for someone of Middle Eastern descent for Drogo. Plus 7 ft is just too big for Drogo, Merchant would look absolutely tiny compared to him.
Option 2 seems unlikely as well. Given how many main and important characters need to be introduced in the pilot, adding a scene just to include Gregor would be a waste of valuable screen time. It is slightly more possible that they may have added a short flashback of the Sack of King’s Landing. Hodor would be easier to fit into the pilot, he could just be in the background at the feast or something. But it seems unlikely that Stevens would be auditioning for Hodor as it would be a waste to cast a stunt guy with combat training as Hodor.
I think option 3 is the most likely scenario, which means that they are prepping auditions for the full series so that casting can begin in earnest once they get the series order. This is a great sign for not only the hope of seeing this thing on air but also for it airing within 2010.