Line #3 Creator/TamzinMerchant


1	[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/740full_tamzin_merchant.jpg]]
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3	Tamzin Merchant (born 4 March 1987, in Sussex, England), is an English actress. She's perhaps best known for portraying Katherine Howard, fifth wife of UsefulNotes/HenryVIII, in ''Series/TheTudors''. Her other notable roles include Georgiana Darcy in ''Film/PrideAndPrejudice2005'', Anne Hale in ''Series/{{Salem}}'' and Imogen Spurnrose in ''Series/CarnivalRow''. She portrayed Daenerys Targaryen in the original pilot for ''Series/GameOfThrones'', though she was replaced by Creator/EmiliaClarke for the series proper. Besides acting, she's also written and published {{poetry}}, and has written a trilogy of fantasy novels, with her debut novel, ''The Hatmakers'', being published in February 2021.
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5	!!Filmography includes:
6	* ''Film/{{Pride and Prejudice\|2005}}'' (2005) as Georgiana Darcy
7	* ''Series/Casualty1906'' (2006) as Probationer Eastwood
8	* ''Series/{{Bonekickers}}'' (2008) as Helena
9	* ''Series/TheTudors'' (2009 - 2010) as Katherine Howard
10	* ''Film/{{Jane Eyre\|2011}}'' (2011) as Mary Rivers
11	* ''Film/RedFactionOrigins'' (2011) as Lyra Mason
12	* ''Series/DCIBanks'' (2011) as Miranda Aspern
13	* ''Literature/TheMysteryOfEdwinDrood'' (2012) as Rosa Bud
14	* ''Series/{{Salem}}'' (2014 - 2017) as Anne Hale
15	* ''Film/Dragonheart3TheSorcerersCurse'' (2015) as Rhonu
16	** ''Film/DragonheartBattleForTheHeartfire'' (2017)
17	* ''Series/{{Supergirl\|2015}}'' (2017) as Lyra Strayd
18	* ''Series/CarnivalRow'' (2019 - 2023) as Imogen Spurnrose
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20	!!Tropes associated with the creator and her works:
21	* CreatorBacklash: Although she has nothing against ''Game of Thrones'' overall, she eventually stated she really didn't enjoy her experience shooting the pilot episode and was extremely apprehensive about playing Daenerys, nearly backing out before filming. She was actually relieved when the role was recast.
22	* DawsonCasting:
23	** Notably averted with her role as Georgiana Darcy in the 2005 adaptation of ''Pride and Prejudice''; Georgiana has recently turned 16 years old while Merchant herself was 17 during filming. Georgiana was one of Merchant's first roles.
24	** Katherine Howard is believed to have mostly likely been born in 1523, making her around 17 when she married Henry VIII in 1540 and 19 when she was executed in 1542. Merchant was around 21 when she first played Katherine (before her marriage to Henry), though this is understandable given the sexual nature of the role; Merchant was also able to pass for a teenager well. It's also worth noting some sources place Katherine's birth year slightly earlier, which would make Merchant almost exactly the right age.
25	** She was 22 when she played Daenerys in the ''Game of Thrones'' pilot, who is 16-turning-17 at the beginning of the show; once again this is understandable given [[RapeAsDrama some of the stuff]] Daenerys goes through; she was already [[AgeLift aged up]] from 13-turning-14 as she was in the books.
26	** Imogen Spurnrose is 22 in ''Carnival Row'''s first season, while Merchant was in fact 30 and turned 31 during the filming of Season 1. The second season takes place a few months after the first, so Imogen is about the same age while Merchant was 33/34 during filming and turned 36 by the time Season 2 finished airing.
27	* MsFanservice: One of her most famous roles is as Katherine "rose without a thorn" Howard, who gets several scenes involving nudity and sex in ''The Tudors''. She also stripped off and was featured in sex scenes as Anne in ''Salem'' and Imogen in ''Carnival Row''.
28	* TheOtherMarty: She portrayed the Mother of Dragons in the ''Game of Thrones'' pilot in 2009; when the first episode was reshot, Emilia Clarke played Daenerys instead and went on to play her for the rest of the series. It's not entirely clear why Merchant left the role - most people who worked on the pilot have stated her performance was good - though it's been suggested the creators felt that Clarke was a better fit as Dany and had more onscreen chemistry with Creator/JasonMomoa (who portrayed Khal Drogo). In a 2021 interview with EW, Merchant [[https://ew.com/tv/tamzin-merchant-game-of-thrones-pilot/ admitted]] she felt the role wasn't right for her and that she was initially talked out of turning it down, so she doesn't regret the casting change and saw it as a learning experience.
29	-->"Shooting that pilot was a really great lesson. It was an affirmation about listening to my instincts and following them, because I tried to back out of that situation and, during the contract process, I ''did'' back out. I was talked back into it by some persuasive people. Then I found myself naked and afraid in Morocco and riding a horse that was clearly much more excited to be there than I was."
30	* PeriodPiece: Many of her roles are in works set in the distant past. This includes 9th Century Britain (''Dragonheart 3'' & ''4''), 1540s England (''The Tudors''), 1690s America (''Salem''), the late 1700s (''Pride and Prejudice''), the 19th century (''Jane Eyre'' and ''The Mystery of Edwin Drood''), and a London hospital in 1906 (''Casualty 1906''). ''Carnival Row'' is a fantasy series rather than historical fiction, though the setting resembles the Victorian era.
31	* RomanceOnTheSet: She dated Freddie Fox for a time after meeting him on the set of ''The Mystery of Edwin Drood''.
32	* SheAlsoDid: Merchant is primarily known for her acting, though she's also a published poet and has written a trilogy of children's fantasy novels, ''The Hatmakers'' (2021), ''The Mapmakers'' (2022) and ''The Troublemakers'' (2024).
33	* {{Typecasting}}: She has a tendency to play characters who are either TheIngenue or SpoiledSweet (or a bit of both).
34	* WhatCouldHaveBeen: She was the original casting choice for Daenerys Targaryen, and played her in the unaired ''Game of Thrones'' pilot. After the pilot was poorly received and the whole show was reworked, the role was recast with Emilia Clarke.

Context Creator / TamzinMerchant