The down-to-earth farmer Gunnar with his soft eyes, who in his village looks jealously at his muscular competitor for the favor of Kora (Sofia Boutella) and innocently ends up in an intergalactic adventure. And the sadistic Imperial Admiral Atticus Noble with his icy charisma and his devilish grin with his strangely misshapen teeth. Two characters could hardly be more different from each other…
They are featured in the Netflix sci-fi hit “Rebel Moon – Part 1: Child of Fire”. Dutch Michiel Huisman (Gunnar) and from the British Ed Skrein (Atticus Noble). Not only are their roles in the action adventure very different, they also look nothing alike. And yet: HBO cast them both in Game Of Thrones in the same role, first played by Ed Skrein and then taken over by Michiel Huisman…
We are of course talking about Daario Naharis. Ed Skrein played the lieutenant of the mercenary company “The Second Born” in three episodes in season 3. Michiel Huisman then took over from season 4 – and remained faithful to the role for much longer. For a total of 18 episodes, he played the warrior who accompanies Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) in her fight for the Iron Throne and later even shares her bed.
After Ed Skrein left after season 3, it was rumored that he left his role on the fantasy series to take on the lead role in the car-actioner “The Transporter Refueled”. However, Skrein himself contradicted these speculations. The reasons for his departure were “political in nature”. He didn’t leave the series (just) because of another project – his plan was to stay on “Game Of Thrones” longer, he explained in an interview .
Not just Ed Skrein and Michiel Huisman: Many changes in ‘GoT’
This is very similar to the infamous ‘creative differences’ where the parties fall out during a film or series production. However, there was never an official reason for Skrein’s departure. By the way, Daario Naharis’ role is far from the only one that was recast during the eight-season run of “Game Of Thrones”.
The best-known cast changes in the fantasy series are the recasting of the Night King (first Richard Brake, later Vladimir Furdik) and powerhouse Ser Gregor “The Mountain” Clegane, who even was recast (1st actor: Conan Stevens, 2nd actor: Ian Whyte, 3rd actor: Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson).
By the way, Ian Whyte remained in the series after his move – he simply did not want to play the role of the murderous Ser Gregor anymore because he could not cope with its brutality. Whyte initially played a White Walker before eventually landing the role of fan favorite Wun Wun, the Giant.