Game of Thrones showrunner David Benioff has revealed the surprising news that Prince Oberyn Martell star Pedro Pascal submitted an "amateurish" audition for the role.
Oberyn, also known as the Red Viper of Dorne, featured in season four of the HBO drama, arriving at King's Landing harbouring a major grudge against the Lannister family. A man with serious combat skills and a love for vengeance, the character is also known for his charisma.
In a surprise revelation, Benioff has told Variety that Pascal's initial audition for the role "looked like s**t" – but his impressive performance still landed him the part.
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"It was an iPhone selfie audition, which was unusual," Benioff said. "And this wasn't one of the new-fangled iPhones with the fancy cameras. It looked like shit; it was shot vertical; the whole thing was very amateurish. Except for the performance, which was intense and believable and just right."
The team had been looking for "an actor with charisma, sexual energy, physical menace and depth" who could convey anger but also be "funny" and "sensitive".
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It was a tall order but Pascal, who has also starred in hit series The Mandalorian and Narcos as well as movies including Wonder Woman 1984 and Kingsman: The Golden Circle, managed it.
Benioff added that the actor was perfect for the role because he "figures out who the character really is and then he portrays that man, scouring off all falsehood", and also simply because "he's really f**king handsome".
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Benioff explained that once he'd watched Pascal in action he had no doubt that the actor was "going to be a star".
"I thought he deserved more recognition, frankly," he said. "Was he nominated for any awards? He should have been. But Dan (DB Weiss, the show's other creator) and I were thrilled that we gave Pedro a job that helped his ascent, because he's an absolute gem of an actor and a man."
Sadly Oberyn was doomed, as the show followed the trajectory of George RR Martin's novel series A Song of Ice and Fire and killed Oberyn off during a brutal trial by combat against Gregor 'The Mountain' Clegane (Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson).
But despite the popularity of both Oberyn and actor Pascal, Benioff revealed that the show's bosses never had any regrets about Oberyn's fate.
"I mean, we love Pedro. And we loved that character," he said. "But his death at the hands of the Mountain was one of our favorite brutal killings from George's books... Part of the reason people remember Oberyn is because he died so horribly. And if we hadn't killed him, poor Pedro never could have done Narcos. So, it worked out. Not for Oberyn. But for the rest of us."
Game of Thrones seasons 1-8 are now available on DVD and Blu-ray.
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HBO/Warner Home Video Game of Thrones Seasons 1-8 - The Complete Series [DVD] [2019]
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Columbia For The Throne (Music Inspired by the HBO Series Game of Thrones) [Explicit]
Michael Joseph Game of Thrones: A Guide to Westeros and Beyond: The Complete Series
Penguin Random House George RR Martin's A Game of Thrones Leather-Cloth Boxed Set
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Reporter & Sub-Editor, Digital Spy Susannah is a freelance writer and sub-editor, specialising in the entertainment industry. She graduated in 2014, with a BA in English and American Literature and Creative Writing, and an MA in Creative Producing. She’s been writing for Digital Spy ever since, after first getting involved through work experience, and has written hundreds of stories for the site on a range of topics, from The Sims to Doctor Who. Susannah has also written for Reveal Magazine. Her special interests are soaps (her Mastermind subject would be 2000s Coronation Street), Marvel and Star Wars. She can also quote far too many lines from Friends and Brooklyn Nine-Nine.
