23 Actors Who Auditioned For Another Role On The Show Before Being Cast As The Iconic Character We Know Them As
Imagine how different these shows might've been...
1. Courteney Cox almost played Rachel on Friends.
Cox connected more with Monica.
2. One Tree Hill's creator originally wanted Chad Michael Murray to play Nathan.
However, Murray wanted to play Lucas.
3. Sarah Michelle Gellar originally auditioned for Cordelia on Buffy the Vampire Slayer — and Charisma Carpenter auditioned for Buffy.
Of course, Gellar ended up being cast as Buffy, while Carpenter was cast as mean girl Cordelia.
4. Iwan Rheon, Joe Dempsie, and Alfie Allen all auditioned for Jon Snow on Game of Thrones before being cast as Ramsay, Gendry, and Theon, respectively.
5. Paul Wesley (who went on to play Stefan) and Michael Trevino (who went on to play Tyler) both auditioned for Damon on The Vampire Diaries.
Candice Accola (who played Caroline) stated that all the girls also read for Elena, and she believes that something similar was done with the boys.
6. And Zach Roerig read for Stefan, Damon, and Tyler before being cast as Matt.
7. Alisha Boe originally auditioned for Hannah in 13 Reasons Why before being cast as Jessica.
8. Chris Colfer originally auditioned for Artie on Glee.
Producers liked him so much, they wrote the role of Kurt just for him.
9. Annie Murphy at one point auditioned for Stevie on Schitt's Creek.
After auditioning for Alexis, Murphy was called back in to read for Stevie. However, after meeting Emily, Murphy said she thought, Why on earth would these people entertain the idea of anyone else playing this part?
10. Noah Schnapp, who went on to play Will, originally auditioned for Mike in Stranger Things.
11. Lisa Weil originally auditioned for Rory before being cast as Paris on Gilmore Girls.
12. Shay Mitchell (who went on to play Emily) and Janel Parrish (who ended up playing Mona) both auditioned for Spencer on Pretty Little Liars.
Mitchell sent in an audition tape for Spencer, but when she was brought in, she was asked to read for Emily. Parrish actually got a few callbacks for Spencer before ultimately being cast as Mona.
13. Dominic Monaghan and Jorge Garcia both auditioned for Sawyer before being cast as Hurley and Charlie, respectively, on Lost.
You can watch their audition tapes here.
14. And Yunjin Kim, who played Sun in Lost, also read for Kate, who ended up being played by Evangeline Lilly.
15. Cole Sprouse was invited to audition for Archie on Riverdale.
However, he asked to read for Jughead, feeling that the character was more his style.
16. Peter Mullan was originally meant to play Peter Abernathy or the Man in Black in the Westworld pilot. He had a scheduling conflict and was later cast as James Delos, the owner of the park, in Season 2.
17. Holland Roden originally auditioned for Allison before being cast as Lydia on Teen Wolf.
18. Adam Scott auditioned for Mark Brendanawicz on Parks and Recreation. He was later cast as Ben.
19. Grant Gustin originally auditioned for Roy on Arrow before being cast as the Flash and starring in the spinoff.
20. Before playing Wally West on The Flash, actor Keiynan Lonsdale originally auditioned for Firestorm on Legends of Tomorrow.
21. Ed Helms auditioned for Jim before later being cast as Andy on The Office.
Adam Scott also read for the role.
22. Laura Prepon originally auditioned for Piper before being cast as Alex on Orange Is the New Black.
They tailored the role of Alex for Prepon after they felt that her audition for Piper didn't match the character's girl-next-door energy: "Laura Prepon in prison? I don't worry about her," showrunner Jenji Kohan said.
23. And finally, Yael Stone, who ended up playing Lorna, originally auditioned for Nicky.
