Actor Brian Cox, who plays Logan Roy in HBO's Succession, says that he turned down a role in the first season of Game of Thrones because the pay wasn't good enough.
In a recent GQ-published excerpt from Cox's memoir, Putting the Rabbit in the Hat, the actor recalls the time that he was offered the role of Robert Baratheon in Game of Thrones - explaining that the money involved wasn't good enough to bring him into the fold.
"I’m often asked if I was offered a role in Game of Thrones - reason being that every other bugger was - and the answer is, yes," says Cox in the excerpt. "I was supposed to be a king called Robert Baratheon, who apparently died when he was gored by a boar in the first season. I know very little about Game of Thrones so I can’t tell you whether or not he was an important character, and I’m not going to google it just in case he was, because I turned it down."
"Why? Well, Game of Thrones went on to be a huge success and everybody involved earned an absolute fortune, of course. But when it was originally offered the money was not all that great, shall we say. Plus I was going to be killed off fairly early on, so I wouldn’t have had any of the benefits of the long-term effects of a successful series where your wages go up with each passing season. So I passed on it, and Mark Addy was gored by the boar instead. (I lied. I did google it.)"
While Baratheon's role in the show ended relatively quickly in comparison to the show's eight seasons, he plays a pretty significant part in the show's first season. Prior to Game of Thrones final outing, IGN caught up with Mark Addy to ask how he wanted the late king to be remembered by viewers.
"I think he's an interesting character because your first impression of him is that of somebody who is not a great king, and it's really only when you see some of the guys that follow him that you go, actually, he wasn't as bad as he could have been," explained Addy.
"He was never happy with his lot, by the time we meet him in the series, he has gone from being a warrior, that was where he was happiest. Those days are behind him now, and he's in a decline, and realizes too late that he's surrounded himself with enemies and married into half of them. It's taken him a while to realize that, but it's just about too late. I think he's very misunderstood. I would say... I'd like him to be remembered as a misunderstood king."
As for Cox, it's not like the actor has been short of work. Most notably, Cox has played media magnate Logan Roy in HBO's hugely lauded Succession. In the latest season, we said, "Cox is once again in formidable form as Logan. His ability to switch between quiet dominance, sweet manipulation, and cruel rage makes every scene he’s in a Russian roulette for how it’s going to pan out for the people in his crosshairs."
In other Game of Thrones news, George R.R. Martin recently confirmed that he's seen a version of the first episode for HBO's upcoming prequel to the show, House of the Dragon. Detailing the experience in a blog post, Martin wrote, "I’ve seen a rough cut of the first episode. And loved it. It’s dark, it’s powerful, it’s visceral… just the way I like my epic fantasy."
For more from House of the Dragon, check out this article detailing who's who in the show's teaser trailer.
Jared Moore is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.
Continue reading...
In a recent GQ-published excerpt from Cox's memoir, Putting the Rabbit in the Hat, the actor recalls the time that he was offered the role of Robert Baratheon in Game of Thrones - explaining that the money involved wasn't good enough to bring him into the fold.
"I’m often asked if I was offered a role in Game of Thrones - reason being that every other bugger was - and the answer is, yes," says Cox in the excerpt. "I was supposed to be a king called Robert Baratheon, who apparently died when he was gored by a boar in the first season. I know very little about Game of Thrones so I can’t tell you whether or not he was an important character, and I’m not going to google it just in case he was, because I turned it down."
"Why? Well, Game of Thrones went on to be a huge success and everybody involved earned an absolute fortune, of course. But when it was originally offered the money was not all that great, shall we say. Plus I was going to be killed off fairly early on, so I wouldn’t have had any of the benefits of the long-term effects of a successful series where your wages go up with each passing season. So I passed on it, and Mark Addy was gored by the boar instead. (I lied. I did google it.)"
While Baratheon's role in the show ended relatively quickly in comparison to the show's eight seasons, he plays a pretty significant part in the show's first season. Prior to Game of Thrones final outing, IGN caught up with Mark Addy to ask how he wanted the late king to be remembered by viewers.
"I think he's an interesting character because your first impression of him is that of somebody who is not a great king, and it's really only when you see some of the guys that follow him that you go, actually, he wasn't as bad as he could have been," explained Addy.
"He was never happy with his lot, by the time we meet him in the series, he has gone from being a warrior, that was where he was happiest. Those days are behind him now, and he's in a decline, and realizes too late that he's surrounded himself with enemies and married into half of them. It's taken him a while to realize that, but it's just about too late. I think he's very misunderstood. I would say... I'd like him to be remembered as a misunderstood king."
As for Cox, it's not like the actor has been short of work. Most notably, Cox has played media magnate Logan Roy in HBO's hugely lauded Succession. In the latest season, we said, "Cox is once again in formidable form as Logan. His ability to switch between quiet dominance, sweet manipulation, and cruel rage makes every scene he’s in a Russian roulette for how it’s going to pan out for the people in his crosshairs."
In other Game of Thrones news, George R.R. Martin recently confirmed that he's seen a version of the first episode for HBO's upcoming prequel to the show, House of the Dragon. Detailing the experience in a blog post, Martin wrote, "I’ve seen a rough cut of the first episode. And loved it. It’s dark, it’s powerful, it’s visceral… just the way I like my epic fantasy."
For more from House of the Dragon, check out this article detailing who's who in the show's teaser trailer.
Jared Moore is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.
Continue reading...