Elizabeth Olsen Reveals She Had a ‘Terrible’ Audition for Daenerys Targaryen in Game of Thrones

In a recent interview with Vulture, Avengers and MCU star Elizabeth Olsen revealed that she had once auditioned for the role of Daenerys Targaryen for the hit HBO series Game of Thrones. According to Olsen, she auditioned for the role when she first started acting and called it an “awkward audition” and a “terrible” experience. She stated the following:

“When I first started working, I just auditioned for everything, because I like auditioning. And I auditioned for Khaleesi. I forgot that. It was the most awkward audition I’d ever had.” Olsen says she auditioned with a monologue from the end of the first season: “[From] after she just burned. And she’s making this speech to thousands of people about how she’s their queen. They didn’t know if they wanted a British accent or not. So, you did it in both. It was terrible. Anytime someone says, ‘Bad audition story.’ That’s one I remember.”

Ultimately, things seemed to work out for the best for Olsen. She was later cast as Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch for the MCU. She’s set to reprise the role in a new TV spinoff, WandaVision, that’s being produced for Disney+.

The unaired pilot for Game of Thrones actually featured Tamzin Merchant in the role of Daenerys Targaryen. The role later went to Emilia Clarke, who has portrayed Daenerys in every season since the first episode.

The series finale for Game of Thrones airs tonight on HBO.