GoT star shares why he almost turned down 3 Body Problem role
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Game of Thrones star Jonathan Pryce has admitted he almost passed on the role of Mike Evans in 3 Body Problem.
Pryce, who portrayed the High Sparrow in HBO's fantasy hit series, has once again teamed up with GoT producers David Benioff and DB Weiss, who co-created Netflix's 3 Body Problem with Alexander Woo.
An adaptation of novel The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu, the sci-fi series follows a group of scientists and a detective grappling with the consequences of a decision made in 1960s China reverberating in the present.
Related: 3 Body Problem ending explained
Pryce plays Evans, an environmentalist turned billionaire, whose story spans across different timelines. In an exclusive chat with Digital Spy, the star revealed he wasn't sure about the role in the first stages of exchanging emails with Benioff and Weiss, who had him in mind for the part.
"Well, they asked me. I'd been in touch – and I like to think they're friends now – with Dan and David, since Game of Thrones, and we're always exchanging emails and stuff about various things," Pryce said.
"They were in London, and they had begun… I think it was a sort of pilot part of it. We were exchanging an email, and I said, 'What is your next project?' They, in one line, came back with, 'It's science-fiction.'
"I went, 'Shit,'" Pryce finally said, explaining he isn't a science-fiction fan. "So I didn't reply to the email."
But it seems that Benioff and Weiss were determined to have Pryce on board, and they reached out again.
"And then about three weeks later, maybe four weeks later, I got a reply from David, saying, 'Well, I guess that's the end of that conversation,' which I found very funny," Pryce recalled.
"And then they told me what it was, obviously, and they said they had this role of Mike Evans which they'd like me to do."
Related: Barack Obama gave hilarious reason for turning down Netflix show cameo
When hearing about Evans' ambiguous backstory, Pryce realised the character was just right for him.
"And, looking at it, it seemed like one of the few roles that I was eligible to play: an interesting man who has created his own world," the actor said.
"He's gone from being an environmentalist who is a multibillionaire oil tycoon, and then decides to create his own society, as it were. I just found the whole thing fascinating," he continued, then added jokingly: "And also because it meant I didn't have to read the whole book."
Pryce, who was adamant he wanted to work with Benioff and Weiss again ("I think they're great producers and writers, and they're great people"), isn't the only Game of Thrones star to appear in 3 Body Problem.
Cast for the show also includes Thrones alumni John Bradley and Liam Cunningham, who played Samwell Tarly and Davos Seaworth, respectively.
All episodes of 3 Body Problem are available to stream now on Netflix.
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