Summary

Iwan Rheon, who played Ramsay Bolton, had auditioned for Jon Snow but didn't get the role.
The impact of Game of Thrones resulted in massive audiences and a love/hate relationship with characters.
Jon Snow could have been portrayed very differently if Iwan Rheon had gotten the role instead.

Among Game of Thrones fans, Jon Snow has been a firm favorite due to his "good guy" archetype, but another star of the long-running series had previously auditioned for the role, who went on to become one of the worst villains, not only on the show but in the history of television. There aren't many TV shows that manage to pull in mass audiences like Game of Thrones did. Adapted from George R.R. Martin's book series, the fantasy show brought in hundreds of thousands of eager watchers over its eight seasons, with its premiere alone bringing in 46 million viewers.

Although there are many opinions about the HBO show's final season and numerous reasons given why it failed to keep its loyal fanbase, it shows what an impact it still has on people to this day, as many of the show's characters still have people talking about them. Coupled with TV's most compelling and complex characters, which include fans' love/hate relationship with Cersei Lannister, the powerful leader and dragon rider Daenerys Targaryen, and the flawed yet likable Jamie Lannister, Jon Snow has always topped most fans' lists when asked about their favorite characters from the show. However, it turns out that Jon Snow could have been a very different character if one actor had gotten the role to play him.

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By Aayush Sharma

Iwan Rheon Was Almost Game of Thrones’ Jon Snow Before Taking the Role of Ramsay Bolton

As highlighted by Screen Rant, Iwan Rheon, who played the cruel and calculating Ramsay Bolton, had previously auditioned for the part of Jon Snow. Obviously, Rheon didn't end up getting the part, with the role of the son of Lyanna Stark and Rhaegar Targaryen going to Kit Harington instead. It's fair to assume that most Game of Thrones fans couldn't imagine Jon being played by anyone other than Harington after witnessing how horrendous Ramsay was since he was introduced in season three, episode two, "Dark Wings, Dark Words." Welsh-born Rheon, who has since starred in Snowblind, Counterpart, and Misfits, as well as films Gingerbread Man and The Spy Who Dumped Me, said in a previous interview that he and Harington were both considered for the role, but he thinks that the show's producers made "the right choice".

"I think it was between me and Kit [Harington], which is quite crazy. It could’ve been so different. I’d be dead now. [laughs] I think they made the right choice; it would’ve been a very different Jon Snow if I’d played him."

As seen in the ninth and penultimate episode of the sixth season of Game of Thrones, Ramsay Bolton and Jon Snow finally came face to face in the Battle of the Bastards, but it would have been strangely different with Rheon taking the role of the beloved hero other than Harington. Both characters couldn't be more different, with Bolton's psychopathic personality leading him to perform some of the worst acts imaginable and Jon Snow's strong sense of honor, unwavering loyalty, and his capacity for compassion making them both an ocean apart. However, even though Ramsay has since gone down as one of the most despised characters on TV, Rheon's incredible acting chops and his ability to showcase such a terrible character with ease really shouldn't go unnoticed.