Being A 'Game Of Thrones' Star Comes With A Huge Career Downside, Says This Actor

I know many people must dream of acting in one of the world's most-watched TV shows, but I'm of the opinion that being in Game of Thrones also comes with plenty of downsides. OK, so there's the mega pay and cast camaraderie, but you're unable to enjoy the series from the outside, have to keep every plot detail a secret from family and friends, and can't enjoy life without being bombarded by fans. See, not so brilliant, is it? One star has revealed another huge disadvantage. Apparently, Game of Thrones actors can't audition for certain roles, potentially leaving them out of work.

At MCM Comic-Con Birmingham, Irish actor Ian Beattie spoke about his time on the series, reports Digital Spy. The 54-year-old played Ser Meryn Trant; the villainous character who eventually got his comeuppance in season five at the hand of Arya Stark.

He opened up about his search for work after the show, revealing that it can be hard for Game of Thrones stars to appear in anything of the same genre on other networks. "It's quite unusual because there was another show, that I'd rather not name if you don't mind, which was auditioning," he told the crowd. "It's based on a video game and I can't remember if Amazon or Netflix were doing it. But at the bottom of the casting call: 'No Game of Thrones actors.'"

Beattie continued: "And that's not the first time that's happened. And I'm thinking, there's some pretty bloody good actors in Game of Thrones. What the heck? But they did not want any form of brand recognition. That's to do with the identity of the show.

"This is obviously a show that sees itself as a Game of Thrones-type show. So they obviously don't want any crossover whatsoever, which is fair enough. I won't be watching it, but OK."

This may well be a recurring problem for the series' famous faces. Its popularity has proven that the genre can do well and probably kickstarted a bunch of similar TV and film productions. Being locked out of a potential job for another network's show isn't likely to be an issue for Game of Thrones' most highly paid acting talent, but could be a financial hit for people playing the show's smaller parts.

While on the topic of his previous role's drawbacks, Beattie also admitted that even he isn't a fan of spoilers, reports Metro. "The more I fell in love with the show, the less I wanted to read the scripts," he said, adding that he went so far as to tell the production office to send only his scenes, instead of entire scripts.

According to Beattie, he almost managed to leave the series spoiler-free. Until his very last day of filming, that is. "The season’s wrapping up and I’m doing a scene with Nikolaj [Coster-Waldau] and Jack [Gleeson], where Joffrey is slagging off his uncle," he explained. "So we finish that scene, I’m standing outside having a cigarette, and Charles Dance walks up and he’s in a dressing gown. 'Well,' he says, 'the little bastard finally killed me.'"

I feel for him, I really do. If you don't want to go through a similar experience, you can catch the last ever series of Game of Thrones on Sky Atlantic from April 14.