Which Game of Thrones characters have been recast, and was it the right move?

Daario Naharis

Daario Naharis made his debut in the season 3 episode “Second Sons,” played by Ed Skrein. The roguish commander of a mercenary company (after he kills his partners), Daario quickly falls in love with Daenerys Targaryen. It looked like Skrein had landed himself a meaty supporting role, but he was replaced the following year by Michael Huisman, who played Daario until he was written out of the show in season 6. What happened, and who did it better?

Skrein’s Daario dripped with swagger, but he always seemed at a bit of a remove. Skrein blamed “politics” for his ouster, saying that his plan was “to stay with Game of Thrones for the long haul.” However, it’s worth noting that Skrein quickly went on to headline The Transporter Refueled, and played the main villain in Deadpool not long after that. So was he fired, or did he leave to work on his movie career? The world may never know.

In any case, Huisman stepped in and brought a level of empathy and charm that was lacking from Skrein’s performance. The actors looked very different from each other, although neither came close to matching the description in A Storm of Swords:

"Daario Naharis was flamboyant even for a Tyroshi. His beard was cut into three prongs and dyed blue, the same color as his eyes and the curly hair that fell to his collar. His pointed mustachios were painted gold. His clothes were all shades of yellow; a foam of Myrish lace the color of butter spilled from his collar and cuffs, his doublet was sewn with brass medallions in the shape of dandelions, and ornamental goldwork crawled up his high leather boots to his thighs. Gloves of soft yellow suede were tucked into a belt of gilded rings, and his fingernails were enameled blue."

Not so much.