Succession star Brian Cox turned down Game of Thrones role because the pay wasn’t good enough

Getting a role in a fantasy epic such as Game of Thrones seems like a dream come true right now, but back then during its budding stage, no one expected the show to become a great success. Game of Thrones turned out to be the biggest show of the 21st century, and there are many famous stars who missed the opportunity to be on the show. One of them is Succession’s Brian Cox, who plays the patriarch of the Roys in the show.

Cox specializes in playing grizzled, no-nonsense types with a bit of an edge to them, which is why he’s so compelling as media empire head Logan Roy on Succession. In an excerpt from his biography Putting the Rabbit in the Hat, He revealed the role he was originally offered the role of Robert Baratheon in Game of Thrones, but ultimately turned it down, stating financial disparity as the main cause. He wrote:

“Why? Well, Game of Thrones went on to be a huge success and everybody involved earned an absolute fortune, of course. But when it was originally offered the money was not all that great, shall we say. Plus I was going to be killed off fairly early on, so I wouldn’t have had any of the benefits of the long-term effects of a successful series where your wages go up with each passing season. So I passed on it, and Mark Addy was gored by the boar instead. (I lied. I did google it.)”

Do you think Cox would have played a better Robert Baratheon on the show? Talk to us in the comments below!