Everybody loves their favorite television characters and the actors who play them, but in the industry, every actor is seemingly replaceable. The reasons for a character being recast are many — scheduling conflicts, jumping to other projects, publicity crises, and a lack of satisfaction by the makers of the show. One would think that these abrupt recastings would be rare, but they happen quite often and under the audience's noses.
Hit shows like Gossip Girl, Riverdale, Friends, and Game of Thrones have changed actors during the show, some of which are obvious and some slip through the cracks.
10 Reggie Mantle - Riverdale
Everyone's favorite jock may have become a favorite over the seasons, but some keen-eyed audiences would have realized that something didn't make sense in Riverdale High — Ross Butler was no longer on Riverdale. Charles Melton replaced Butler for a meatier role as Reggie since Butler was too busy filming season 2 of 13 Reasons Why.
It all worked out in the end, though, since fans got a real life romance between Charles and Camila Mendes, and a subsequent on-screen one too while they worked at La Bonne Nuit.
9 Mandy Milkovich - Shameless
Shrewd and very rough around the edges, Mandy Milkovich's family was terrible and so was her life in Chicago, but the character went through a significant change after the first few episodes of Shameless.
Initially, the troubled teenager was performed by Jane Levy, who eventually left the show to star in Suburgatory. After her, Emma Greenwell stepped into Mandy's dangerous shoes until season 6, where her character arc ended.
8 Daario Naharis - Game of Thrones
This cast change was a major one on Game of Thrones and one where the showrunners didn't even bother making the two actors look like each other. Ed Skrein, the original Daario, had classically good looks and a flowing mane, while Michiel Huisman had shorter hair and a magnificent beard.
Daenerys' love interest and friend was an important character, so the recast was a big decision. However, the circumstances under which Skrein exited the show stay shrouded in mystery.
7 Queen Elizabeth II - The Crown
The premise of The Crown involves a rotational change of actors to signify the passage of time and the aging of monarchs, so several actors changed through the course of the show. However, it would be remiss to not mention the casting change of the Queen herself, from the hugely talented Claire Foy to the revered Olivia Colman.
The transition between the two actors was seamless, and after two seasons of playing Queen Elizabeth II, Colman will pass the proverbial baton to Imelda Staunton as the oldest version of the regent.
6 Helene Beesly - The Office
Pam's mother, described as sweet and supportive in the early seasons of The Office, was exactly that in the episode "Sexual Harassment," where she made her first appearance. Shannon Cochran was the actor who came to Dunder-Mifflin to meet Pam, but she was changed to Linda Purl from the "Niagara" episodes.
Besides the appearance, Pam's mom's behavior changed a fair bit too with the recast: she was a lot meaner and lost the niceness that Shannon Cochran had embodied in her appearance.
5 Toby Cavanaugh - Pretty Little Liars
Jenna's brother had a difficult adolescence, no thanks to his sister, and the actor cast in the pilot of Pretty Little Liars also went through a transformation into a completely new person.
James Neate played Toby Marshall in the first episode but was replaced by the more well-known Keegan Allen with a name change — Toby Cavanaugh, the same one who became a cop and found love with Spencer Hastings.
4 Carol Willick - Friends
Ross' wife had a pivotal role in the series, but the actor who played Carol in her first appearance, Anita Barone, opted out of continuing in the show because she felt that the part was too small, even though the first scene she appeared in was the one where she told Ross about her pregnancy.
One woman's trash is another's treasure because Jane Sibbett got the Friends role eventually of Ross' ex-wife, with a significant arc with her girlfriend and her child that they all raised together.
3 Lily Tucker-Pritchett - Modern Family
Mitchell and Cam's sassy adoptive daughter on Modern Family was originally performed by Jaden and Ella Hiller, two cute twins who reportedly didn't love being on set, which was understandable given their age. They were recast, and Aubrey Anderson-Emmons joined the show in season 3, becoming the Lily that fans have come to love and cherish.
Despite being a child character, the difference was felt immediately, but Aubrey Anderson-Emmons was amazing as the youngest in the family.
2 Eleanor Waldorf - Gossip Girl
Blair Waldorf's designer mum was a big deal on the Upper East Side in Gossip Girl, and apart from making questionable parenting choices, some contentious casting choices were also made. Florencia Lozano played her icy mother in the pilot, but the showrunners decided that the actress was too young to play Leighton Meester's mom.
Therein stepped in Margaret Colin, a more maternal and older actress who walked the fine line between loving her daughter and also expecting the best from her.
1 The Night King - Game of Thrones
Game of Thrones had a bunch of cast changes, and the biggest bad of the medieval show also transformed somewhere in there. For the first few seasons, Richard Brake played the malicious Night King, but he suddenly changed in season 6.
Vladimir Furdik replaced the OG Night King, which was ironic since the actor had originally portrayed the White Walker that Jon Snow had slain earlier in the show. Furdik is a noted stunt performer, so he fit in perfectly.
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