Elizabeth Olsen is one of the most recognizable actresses in Hollywood at the moment, largely due to her role as Wanda Maximoff in WandaVision and other MCU projects. But in a turn of events likely to pique speculation from fans, Olsen revealed that she auditioned for Game of Thrones to play Daenerys Targaryen.
Daenerys Targaryen, a character ultimately made famous by Emilia Clarke's portrayal, was a pivotal player in HBO's Game of Thrones series. The character appeared in every season and was given one of the series' most complex and fascinating story arcs. The series documented her upbringing as a slave, her journey to oversee the growth of dragons, and her eventual descent into genocidal behavior. Daenerys was one of the most popular and well-known figures in pop culture during the 2010s and served as a catalyst for Clarke to become a household name and be offered exciting roles for films like 2015's Terminator Genisys and Solo: A Star Wars Story.
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Olsen reflected on her audition for Daenerys during an interview on The Hollywood Reporter's Awards Chatter podcast, stating that it didn't go as well as she'd hoped it would. She said she was doing the Khaleesi speech and knew during her reading of the lines that she was bombing. The actress said, "it was awful. I didn't get a callback." Of course, Olsen is far from the only actress who has had a rough time auditioning for a role, and certainly not the only one to struggle when auditioning for Game of Thrones. Blade star Mahershala Ali once appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live and revealed that he bombed when reading for the role of Xaro Xhoan Daxos.
The younger sister of Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, Elizabeth Olsen was known for impressive leading roles in small films such as Martha Marcy May Marlene and Silent House before catching her big break by acting as Wanda Maximoff (a.k.a. Scarlet Witch) in Avengers: Age of Ultron. She returned for multiple subsequent MCU films before starring in the acclaimed Disney Plus series Wandavision.
Fortunately, both Elizabeth Olsen and Clarke have seen their careers flourish thanks to their big roles as Wanda Maximoff and Daenerys Targaryen, respectively. Both actresses have a myriad of film and television appearances planned for the future, so it's certainly not the last we've seen of either fan-favorite performer.
In fact, Clarke will be joining Elizabeth Olsen as a member of the MCU family when she appears in Marvel Studios' Secret Invasion, a limited series based on the comic storyline of the same name. Of course, it seems unlikely that Elizabeth Olsen's Scarlet Witch and Clarke's unknown character will interact on the show, but only time will tell.
Game of Thrones is now available on HBO Max.
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Source: Hollywood Reporter