- Many iconic TV and movie roles have been recast over time.
- Some were even recast in the middle of multi-billion dollar movie franchises.
- Audiences, however, don’t always notice when recasts happen.
- Bloodraven. The Mountain, and The Night King had cast changes in “Game of Thrones.”
- Two different actresses played Ann in “Arrested Development.”
- Emperor Palpatine was played by two different actors in “Star Wars.”
Recasting happens a lot more than audiences may realize. Some recasting even takes place in the middle of multi-billion dollar movie franchises and in-between TV series.
INSIDER found out 15 recasts that you may have missed.
The Night King switched actors after season five in “Game of Thrones.”
The change in the appearance of the Night King in “Game of Thrones” easily went unnoticed under all the make-up and CGI that the character endures. However, after season five, Richard Brake was replaced by stunt performer Vladimir Furdik permanently.
Two people played Thanos in “The Avengers” franchise.
At the end of “The Avengers,” fans got a tease of what was to come for Marvel’s next two phases with a scene introducing the new villain, Thanos. Damion Poitier filled this role, unceremoniously credited as “Man #1.”
When Marvel needed a bigger name to fill Thanos's shoes, Josh Brolin was cast for "Avengers: Infinity War."
Meg was played by Mila Kunis and Lacey Chabert in "Family Guy."
Mila Kunis is famous for voicing the role of Meg in the animated series "Family Guy", but she was not the original voice actress.
"Mean Girls" star Lacey Chabert was the voice of Meg for the entire first season before leaving due to other obligations. They eventually acknowledged this swap in a season eight gag.
Carol from "Friends" was played by two different women.
"Friends" has a huge fanbase and many binge-watchers may have likely noticed this change by now. However, when Ross's ex-wife Carol first appears in season one she was played by Anita Barone.
Later in that season, Barone was replaced by Jane Sibbett, who went on to make the character her own.
Two actors played Bloodraven in "Game of Thrones."
In the season four finale, Bran finally met the Bloodraven. The showrunners then announced the audience would not see Bran until season six. When his storyline returned, British actor Struan Rodger was replaced by the more well-known Swedish actor Max Von Sydow.
Two actors played Lavender Brown in "Harry Potter."
In her only credited role, actress Jennifer Smith played Lavender Brown in the film, "The Prisoner of Azkaban," which was her only appearance in the franchise.
The role of Lavender was recast as Jessie Cave in "The Half Blood Prince." Unnoticed at the time, recent discussions about diversity in the "Harry Potter" series and spin-offs have ignited debate over whether the recasting of the role was a result of whitewashing.
Emperor Palpatine was played by two actors in the "Star Wars" series.
The antagonist of the original "Star Wars" trilogy, Emperor Palpatine was played by Marjorie Eaton and then voiced by Clive Revill in his first appearance in "The Empire Strikes Back."
For "Return of the Jedi" and the prequel films, Ian McDiarmid was cast in the role.
"Arrested Development's" Ann saw two actresses.
Ann was George Michael's often forgotten girlfriend. Played by Alessandra Torresani in the first season, she was replaced by Mae Whitman in the second.
Whitman later revealed to People TV that there was supposed to be a revolving door of Anns, to keep viewers on their toes and reinforcing the running gag, however Whitman ended up playing Ann until season four.
Dash was voiced by two different child actors in "The Incredibles" and its sequel.
In the original Pixar superhero hit, middle child Dash was voiced by child actor Spencer Fox. In the 2018 reboot, "Incredibles 2" Fox was replaced with Huckleberry "Huck" Milner, due to the fact that the sequel takes place immediately following the original, despite the 14 years since the first movie released.
The Mountain from "Game of Thrones" has been played by three actors.
This role of The Mountain has been recast twice. In the first season, Gregor Clegane was played by Conan Stevens. Recurring "Game of Thrones" actor Ian Whyte took up the Mountain mantle in season two.
Since season four, however, the role has been filled by the strongest man in the world Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson.
"Harry Potter's" Griphook was played by two actors.
In the first "Harry Potter" movie, the Goblin banker Griphook was played by Verne Troyer but voiced by Warwick Davis.
Davis, who also played Professor Flitwick in the franchise, went on to take over the role after Troyer did not reprise his role.
"Back To The Future's" Jennifer Parker was played by two different actresses.
The love interest of Marty McFly, Jennifer Parker was originally portrayed by Claudia Wells. For parts two and three, Wells was recast and the role of Jennifer was played by Elisabeth Shue. The time-traveling nature of the second movie forced scenes from the first movie to be remade shot for shot, with Shue as Jennifer instead of Wells.
Clarice Starling in The Red Dragon Movies was played by two different actresses.
Despite winning an Oscar for her performance in the 1991 film "Silence of the Lambs," Jodie Foster dropped out of playing Clarice in the sequel. Julianne Moore replaced Foster in the 2001 "Hannibal."
"Sesame Street" has seen three Gordon Robinsons.
Gordon Robinson is an original Sesame Street resident that has been on the show since its debut in 1969. Played by Matt Robinson in the first three seasons, Hal Miller took on the role for the following two seasons.
Starting in season six, the final change was made and Roscoe Orman has been Gordon to this day.
Three different women played Catwoman in "Batman."
In the 1960 Batman TV show, Lee Merriweather, Julie Newmar, and Eartha Kitt all played the caped crusader's nemesis, Catwoman. That's one Catwoman per season.
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