Outlander star Graham McTavish revealed he once turned down a role in Game of Thrones before he signed up to star in House Of The Dragon.
The Glasgow-born actor, who is best known for his roles as Dougal Mackenzie in the Starz fantasy and Dwalin in The Hobbit Trilogy, is currently starring in the HBO prequel. Following his exit from Outlander, Graham revealed he had turned down a major role on Game of Thrones.
Although he missed out on the job, he was happy to be considered for the new epic production, starring Matt Smith and Paddy Considine, which kicked off on Monday. Recalling a meeting with showrunner Ryan Condal, he stated: “About five years ago, we were having lunch and he told me he was working on a Game Of Thrones prequel and he would love me to be in it. When it came closer, he said there were two possible characters I could play, but one of them died in episode four, so of course, I went for the other one!”
During his interview with the Sunday Post, Graham didn’t identify the character he turned down. “Ryan Condal and I worked together on an NBC pilot in 2013, which wasn’t picked up, but we became friends and I subsequently worked with him again on another of his shows, Colony,” McTavish explained.
“This is not something you hear happening very often, where someone has an idea, writes it, meets with the original writer, who loves it, then approaches HBO and they say yes. Every day when we were working on it, I would say to Ryan, as we were surrounded by hundreds of people and massive sets, ‘Can you believe this?’
“The king’s guards that my character is part of are almost like Templar monks/warrior types, who forsake all worldly things and are not allowed to have relationships or money. They are completely devoted to the king. I had to wear a lot of armour and never once was I allowed to sit down in a scene.”
The dad-of-two hasn’t managed to swipe any costumes or props from the Game Of Thrones so far, but has an impressive behind the scenes collection. “I have the weapons from The Hobbit and my plaid, bunnet and broad sword from Outlander," he continued.
He added: "You used to be able to take costumes back in the day. I remember doing an episode of CSI Miami where I wore a really nice suit, with a Versace shirt and tie. It looked great and they told me I could have it if I wanted. Nowadays you need to practically prise a button from their hands!”
Outlander Season 7 is currently in production in Scotland, and the 18 episode season isn't expected to finish shooting until March 2023. However, Graham won't be making his return to the show as Dougal met his death in season two.
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