Game of Thrones star Jonathan Pryce has admitted he almost passed on the role of Mike Evans in 3 Body Problem.
Pryce, who portrayed the High Sparrow in HBO's fantasy hit series, has once again teamed up with GoT producers David Benioff and DB Weiss, who co-created Netflix's 3 Body Problem with Alexander Woo.
An adaptation of novel The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu, the sci-fi series follows a group of scientists and a detective grappling with the consequences of a decision made in 1960s China reverberating in the present.
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Pryce plays Evans, an environmentalist turned billionaire, whose story spans across different timelines. In an exclusive chat with Digital Spy, the star revealed he wasn't sure about the role in the first stages of exchanging emails with Benioff and Weiss, who had him in mind for the part.
"Well, they asked me. I'd been in touch – and I like to think they're friends now – with Dan and David, since Game of Thrones, and we're always exchanging emails and stuff about various things," Pryce said.
"They were in London, and they had begun… I think it was a sort of pilot part of it. We were exchanging an email, and I said, 'What is your next project?' They, in one line, came back with, 'It's science-fiction.'
"I went, 'Shit,'" Pryce finally said, explaining he isn't a science-fiction fan. "So I didn't reply to the email."
But it seems that Benioff and Weiss were determined to have Pryce on board, and they reached out again.
"And then about three weeks later, maybe four weeks later, I got a reply from David, saying, 'Well, I guess that's the end of that conversation,' which I found very funny," Pryce recalled.
"And then they told me what it was, obviously, and they said they had this role of Mike Evans which they'd like me to do."
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When hearing about Evans' ambiguous backstory, Pryce realised the character was just right for him.
"And, looking at it, it seemed like one of the few roles that I was eligible to play: an interesting man who has created his own world," the actor said.
"He's gone from being an environmentalist who is a multibillionaire oil tycoon, and then decides to create his own society, as it were. I just found the whole thing fascinating," he continued, then added jokingly: "And also because it meant I didn't have to read the whole book."
Pryce, who was adamant he wanted to work with Benioff and Weiss again ("I think they're great producers and writers, and they're great people"), isn't the only Game of Thrones star to appear in 3 Body Problem.
Cast for the show also includes Thrones alumni John Bradley and Liam Cunningham, who played Samwell Tarly and Davos Seaworth, respectively.
All episodes of 3 Body Problem are available to stream now on Netflix.
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Stefania is a freelance writer specialising in TV and movies. After graduating from City University, London, she covered LGBTQ+ news and pursued a career in entertainment journalism, with her work appearing in outlets including Little White Lies, The Skinny, Radio Times and Digital Spy.
Her beats are horror films and period dramas, especially if fronted by queer women. She can argue why Scream is the best slasher in four languages (and a half).
TV writer, Digital Spy Janet completed her Masters degree in Magazine Journalism in 2013 and has continued to grow professionally within the industry ever since. For six years she honed her analytical reviewing skills at the Good Housekeeping institute eventually becoming Acting Head of Food testing. She also freelanced in the field of film and TV journalism from 2013-2020, when she interviewed A-List stars such as Samuel L Jackson, Colin Firth and Scarlett Johansson. In 2021 she joined Digital Spy as TV writer where she gets to delve into more of what she loves, watching copious amounts of telly all in the name of work. Since taking on the role she has conducted red carpet interviews with the cast of Bridgerton, covered the BAFTAs and been interviewed by BBC Radio and London Live. In her spare time she also moonlights as a published author, the book Gothic Angel.
