Mahershala Ali had a breakout year in 2016, thanks to his performances in House of Cards, Luke Cage, and Moonlight; which may even give him his first Oscar nomination within the next few weeks. However, even someone as talented as Ali can have some off days. According to Ali himself, his tryout for Game of Thrones was “one of the worst auditions of my life.”
While appearing on Jimmy Kimmel Live, Ali explained that he was up for the role of Xaro Xhoan Daxos in the second season of Game of Thrones, which was a role that ultimately went to Nonso Anozie. Ali briefly noted Xaro’s final fate in the series before mentioning that he had two previous “wonky” auditions for the Game of Thrones casting director, but he felt that he was ready for the third audition.
“I was really prepared this time around,” said Ali. “Totally off book, had all of my lines memorized and had this whole thing worked out with this chair. I was working and doing power moves and stances and had my stuff all worked out. And then I go in audition, and I walk in there to the HBO offices and there are these two stools this high in the air with no back behind them. So, I’m kind of sitting there feet halfway off the ground, a little bit stiff during the audition.”
Amusingly, Ali related that the casting director told him “wow, you got to loosen that up. That was really stiff . That was a problem.” Ali went on to note that the lack of backing for the chair was the primary reason for his stiff performance. And while it would have been big for Ali to have been cast on Game of Thrones, we somehow doubt that he’s too upset about the way that things worked out for him in the end.
What do you think about Ali’s bad audition experience? Let us know in the comment section below!
Image: ABC
