Peter Dinklage’s First Response to Game of Thrones Was a Quick No
He could’ve missed on all four of his Emmys.
Without a doubt, Game of Thrones was one of the shows that blew viewers' minds when it started in the 2010s. Although the show had its ups and downs and made some decisions that the fandom didn't agree with the writers on, it still gained insane popularity and became a starting point for several talented actors to get recognized.
However, there were some actors who didn't even have to audition to get their roles. In fact, some of them, like Peter Dinklage, had to be convinced by the writers behind the script to give the show a chance.
Dinklage was the only actor everyone was sure would be in the cast. If the actor didn't agree, the show would be doomed, as the writers weren't willing to resort to a CGI solution to fake Tyrion's dwarfism. So the stakes in the negotiations were high, but the actor's concerns were also there for a reason.
As Dinklage later explained on the Take the Black podcast, at this point in his career, he was already involved in fantasy filming and wasn't a big fan of the genre.
Not only did he find it limiting from a creative standpoint, but it also didn't fit with the activism work he was doing in real life. After all, any medieval setting had to deal with a rather degrading and offensive lexicon:
“As soon as I heard about [Game of Thrones] I was like, ‘No.' <...> In fantasy, everybody speaks in broad strokes. There’s no intimacy. There’s dragons and big speeches, and there’s nothing to hold on to. And for somebody my size, it’s f**king death, the opposite of [the activism] I was involved with,” the actor said.
Fortunately, with the help of the pilot script that David Benioff and Dan Weiss had mastered by then, the team behind the show was able to convince the actor to give the show a chance. Since then, the role of Tyrion Lannister has earned Peter Dinklage numerous nominations and awards, including 4 Primetime Emmys and a Golden Globe.
Viewers, on the other hand, were given the gift of seeing the story brought to life by the golden cast. A true win/win situation for everyone.
Source: Take the Black Podcast