Maureen Ryan of the Huffington Post has discovered, in the course of an interview, that English actor Dominic West—perhaps best known for his role as McNulty in the critically acclaimed The Wire, and currently heading up the BBC’s The Hour—was offered a part on HBO’s Game of Thrones... a part which he passed up because, apparently, it involved being in Iceland for six months (or so he recalls—in fact, the production will be there for about six weeks) and that it was a prominent role.
Ryan speculates a number of possibilities, but we think her first guess—that he was offered the part of Mance Rayder, the former ranger of the Night’s Watch who has proclaimed himself King beyond the Wall—is pretty much spot on. West would have been fairly perfect for the part, it must be said, but it seems that’s not meant to be. As we know from recent remarks, the role of Mance Rayder was still in casting just two weeks ago.