Tamzin Merchant, who was the first choice to play the iconic role of Daenerys Targaryen, and who even shot an unreleased pilot of Season 1, has shared her thoughts about the failed pilot, the character, and the show in general.

The actress now wishes that she hadn’t been a part of it all and if she had listened to her instincts at that time, she would indeed not have accepted the role.

Tamzin Merchant, who is also known for the series “The Tudors,” has also praised GOT actress Emilia Clarke for making the character an iconic iteration.

Tamzin Merchant was the one to play the role of Daenerys Targaryen; however, the pilot she shot was dumped by HBO, and now she has revealed that the production of the pilot was a nightmare for her and regrets accepting the role.

She was cast as the Mother of Dragons in a pilot that was shot and failed in 2009 and said that from the outset, she had a deep intuition that the whole show was not for her to be involved in.

Merchant has become honest about her memories in her latest conversation with Entertainment Weekly and has shared that being a part of the production team for the pilot was a tremendous lesson for her. She did promise herself that she would listen to her gut feeling after that mishap, and she even tried to move away from everything, but she was brought into the mix of things by some people who knew how to convince.

The star of the show “The Tudors,” was just 21 years old when she did her bit as Daenerys Targaryen. She has acted in several projects since then, which includes “Salem,” “Carnival Row,” and “Supergirl.” She has also kick-started her writing career with a fantasy novel (from the young adult genre) titled “The Hatmakers.”

She became a part of the cast in Morocco and certainly did not feel included. She jokingly said in the interview that even the horse she was riding in Morocco looked more excited than her.

Merchant further added that she still has fresh memories of the scenes she shot for the wedding night scene, which ultimately had to be cut down in the actual version of the pilot.

Merchant added that though she was not a trained actor at that time, she did have her instincts with her, and what really motivates her to be a part of the project is an interesting story and an engrossing character and for her, Game of Thrones was not of her likings regardless of what others feel about it. And, by saying that, she also remarked that the success of Game of Thrones has had speaks volumes about Emilia Clarke’s capabilities as an actor and interest in the whole saga. And as far as she is concerned, Game of Thrones was definitely a mistake.

She never had the heart and sentiments required to be able to pull off a character like Daenerys Targaryen.

She did receive criticisms at that time; however, it must be notified that even David Benioff and D.B. Weiss have received heaps of criticism for the way they ended the story of Mother of Dragons. Perhaps, it was George R. R. Martin’s fault the entire time. He should have written the novels first.

Source :- https://a9webroot.com/tamzin-merchant-talks-about-daenerys-targaryen-emilia-clarke-and-got/