Game of Thrones' Original Daenerys Actress Talks About Being Replaced by Emilia Clarke After Filming the Pilot

Here’s what Tamzin Merchant had to say…

“Shooting that pilot was a really great lesson,” Tamzin said in an interview with Entertainment Weekly. “It was an affirmation about listening to my instincts and following them, because I tried to back out of that situation and, during the contract process, I did back out. I was talked back into it by some persuasive people. Then I found myself naked and afraid in Morocco and riding a horse that was clearly much more excited to be there than I was.”

“It was a lesson that if my guts are telling me a story isn’t something I’m excited to tell, then I shouldn’t try to be excited just because other people are telling me that I should be excited,” Tamzin continued. “I didn’t have any training as an actor, I only have my instincts. And what excites me and what drives me is a compelling story and a compelling character. So for me, Game of Thrones was never that. I think it’s a testament to Emilia Clarke for making that role iconic — she was obviously excited to tell that story, and she was epic and excellent. But for me, it wasn’t in my heart to tell it.”

Tamzin also talked about what it was like to watch the show’s success unfold.

“It was kind of funny riding to auditions on buses with Emilia Clarke‘s face on it,” she said. “Like, ‘oh my mode of transport is quite interesting today!’ It’s been a thing I felt like I watched unfold and it’s been fantastic for the film industry in Northern Ireland and Croatia, and that has been really great.”

HBO executive Michael Lombardo talked about replacing Tamzin. He said, “There was a piece of casting we had to rethink, [a role] that was compromised. We all knew Daenerys’ journey was critical. Her scenes with Jason [Momoa] just didn’t work.”

Tamzin played the role of Catherine Howard in The Tudors, Anne Hale in the series Salem, and most recently starred as Imogen Spurnrose in Carnival Row.