The 15 Auditions That Changed TV Forever

Game of Thrones was an absolute beast of a show. With over 400 speaking roles, it felt like every actor in Britain had a tape sitting in front of legendary casting director Nina Gold at some point. Some of those tapes are now absolute legend. From a man doing a Māori war dance until the executives went pale, to a teenager flipping into a monster mid-sentence, and a woman who showed up looking exactly like the knight nobody else could summon—these are the fifteen auditions that built Westeros. We’re counting down the wildest, luckiest, and most terrifying casting tapes in television history, all the way to the #1 spot that still gives people chills. Which audition story surprised you the most? Let us know in the comments! 👇 ⏱️ TIMESTAMPS 0:00 - The Impossible Task of Casting Westeros 0:30 - 15. Jaqen H'ghar (Tom Wlaschiha) 1:15 - 14. Daario Naharis (Michiel Huisman) 2:00 - 13. Melisandre (Carice van Houten) 2:45 - 12. Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner) 3:30 - 11. Ygritte (Rose Leslie) 4:15 - 10. Davos Seaworth (Liam Cunningham) 5:00 - 9. Tormund Giantsbane (Kristofer Hivju) 5:45 - 8. Margaery Tyrell (Natalie Dormer) 6:30 - 7. Missandei (Nathalie Emmanuel) 7:15 - 6. Arya Stark (Maisie Williams) 8:00 - 4. Brienne of Tarth (Gwendoline Christie) 8:45 - 3. Joffrey Baratheon (Jack Gleeson) 9:30 - 2. Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) 10:15 - 1. Khal Drogo (Jason Momoa) 🔔 SUPPORT THE CHANNEL Like this video if you want to see more Game of Thrones behind-the-scenes content! #GameOfThrones #HouseOfTheDragon #BehindTheScenes #GoT #CastingTapes #JasonMomoa #EmiliaClarke #MaisieWilliams #Westeros #HBO COPYRIGHT NOTICE: The Copyright Laws of the United States recognize a “fair use” of copyrighted content. Section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Act states: “Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 106 and 106A, the fair use of a copyrighted work, including by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright.” This video and our YouTube channel, in general, may contain certain copyrighted works that were not specifically authorized to be used by the copyright holder(s), but which we believe in good faith are protected by federal law and the fair use doctrine for one or more of the reasons noted above. Fair Dealing: Copyright, Designs and Patent Act 1988 (UK) section 30 states “Fair dealing” with a work for the purposes of criticism or review, of that or another work, does not infringe any copyright in the work provided that it is accompanied by a sufficient acknowledgement. Copyright in a work is not infringed by the use of a quotation from the work (whether for criticism or review or otherwise).