Joe Dempsie Was Rejected by 'Game of Thrones' Three Times Before Landing Gendry Role

Joe Dempsie is living proof of the saying, "at first you don't succeed, try again," because he just revealed he auditioned for Game of Thrones three times before he finally landed his role as Gendry.

Dempsie spoke to Esquire about his multiple audition fails, and said he originally tried for the part of Jon Snow, among two other roles, until he got Gendry.

“I auditioned for the pilot. I had no idea what ‘Game of Thrones’ was. Didn’t get it. Kind of forgot about it,” Dempsie recalled. “Nobody knew it was going to become the biggest TV show on the planet at that point. It was just another audition.”

A year and a half later, Dempsie went back and auditioned for a small part playing Jon's friend from war. There were spots for two different friends, so Dempsie tried for both, but without success.

“I was convinced that they must just think I’m a terrible actor,” Dempsie stated. “Then Gendry came along and again I went along to the audition and I think it was three auditions I had. I had one in London, then one in Belfast where I met [showrunners] David [Benioff] and Dan [Weiss] for the first time. And then a final one where David and Dan were there again. And there was like four other producers in the room, too. And I was fairly convinced it was the worst audition I’ve ever given.”

His manager called him a week later to tell him he got the part, and at first he didn't believe it. But sure enough for Episode 4 of Season 1, Dempsie joined the Thrones family for the first time.

Gendry has remained a fan-favorite all these seasons later, and has played a very important part in the final season so far.