If you’ve spent any time on the internet lately, you might have noticed a weirdly persistent question popping up: Was Dylan McDermott in Game of Thrones? It’s one of those things that sounds like it could be true. He’s got that brooding, leading-man energy. He’s a TV legend. You can practically see him in a fur cloak, standing on a castle wall in Westeros and looking moody.
But here is the flat-out truth: Dylan McDermott was never in Game of Thrones.
Seriously. Not as a Stark, not as a Lannister, and not even as a random White Walker in the background. If you’re searching for "Dylan McDermott Game of Thrones" because you’re convinced you saw him in a tavern in Winterfell, you’re probably thinking of someone else—or you're getting caught up in a very specific web of Hollywood connections that makes it feel like he should have been there.
The Sophie Turner Connection
So, why does everyone keep searching for this? The biggest reason is actually a 2018 movie called Josie.
In Josie, Dylan McDermott stars opposite Sophie Turner. Now, Sophie Turner is basically synonymous with Game of Thrones because she played Sansa Stark for nearly a decade. When the promotional tour for Josie was happening, the headlines were everywhere. "Game of Thrones Star Sophie Turner Teams Up With Dylan McDermott."
If you're scrolling fast through a news feed, your brain does this weird thing where it mashes those names together. You see "Dylan McDermott" and "Game of Thrones" in the same sentence enough times, and suddenly your memory rewrites itself. You start thinking, Oh, he must have played her uncle or something. Honestly, it's an easy mistake to make. The two had great chemistry in that indie thriller, but it was set in a trailer park, not a kingdom. No dragons involved.
Why People Think He Was a Westerosi Lord
There is another layer to this. Dylan McDermott has "The Look."
In the early seasons of Game of Thrones, the show relied heavily on established actors who could carry a lot of gravitas—think Sean Bean or Charles Dance. McDermott, known for his Emmy-winning turn in The Practice and his iconic roles in American Horror Story, fits that mold perfectly.
Some fans have spent years casting him in their heads as potential characters from George R.R. Martin’s books. Here are the roles fans frequently wish he had played:
- Benjen Stark: Some people swear he looks like Joseph Mawle (the actor who actually played Uncle Benjen). They both have that sharp, rugged facial structure.
- Roose Bolton: Before Michael McElhatton was cast, there were forum whispers about a "Dylan McDermott type" for the cold, calculating Lord of the Dreadfort.
- A Blackwood or a Bracken: In the newer House of the Dragon era, his name still comes up in fan-casting for various lords of the Riverlands.
But again, it’s all just wishful thinking. He’s stayed firmly in the realm of modern procedurals and Ryan Murphy horror shows.
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The "Dermot Mulroney" Factor
We can't talk about Dylan McDermott without mentioning the longest-running joke in Hollywood: the fact that nobody can tell him and Dermot Mulroney apart.
There was even a famous Saturday Night Live sketch about it. While neither of them was in Game of Thrones, Dermot Mulroney has done more period-piece style work over the years. It’s entirely possible that someone saw a different actor with a similar name or face in a medieval costume and their brain just defaulted to "Dylan McDermott."
In reality, McDermott has been busy dominating the FBI franchise and the Law & Order universe. He’s a staple of American network television, whereas Game of Thrones was famously cast almost entirely with British and Irish actors to maintain that specific "Old World" vibe. An American accent as recognizable as McDermott’s would have stood out like a sore thumb in King's Landing.
What He's Actually Been Up To
If you’re bummed out that you won’t find a secret McDermott cameo in HBO’s archives, don't worry. The guy is everywhere else.
He basically reinvented his career through American Horror Story. From the "Cry-Wank" scene in Murder House to playing a literal serial killer in Asylum, he proved he could do the kind of dark, twisted storytelling that Game of Thrones fans usually love.
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Recently, he's been the lead on FBI: Most Wanted, playing Remy Scott. It’s a far cry from swinging a broadsword, but he gets to chase down bad guys every week, which is its own kind of justice.
The Verdict on the Rumors
Is there any chance he’ll show up in a spin-off?
Look, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms and other Thrones prequels are always in development. But as of 2026, there are no official reports, leaks, or even credible rumors putting Dylan McDermott in the world of Westeros. He seems pretty happy in the Dick Wolf universe, and the Thrones producers seem committed to their "mostly UK" casting rule.
If you want to see him and a Stark together, your only real option is to go watch Josie. Just be warned: it’s a lot more "gritty Southern noir" than "epic fantasy."
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Actionable Takeaways for Fans
- Check the Credits: If you think you see a celebrity in a show like Thrones, check IMDb first. The show is so massive that every single background extra is usually documented.
- Mind the Accent: If the actor has a thick American accent, they probably aren't in the main Game of Thrones cast.
- Watch Josie: If you specifically want to see the McDermott/Turner dynamic, that film is the only place it exists.
- Follow Casting News: For actual House of the Dragon or Aegon's Conquest updates, stick to official sources like The Hollywood Reporter or Variety.
It’s funny how the internet creates these "Mandela Effect" moments. You see a name and a show title enough times in the same Twitter thread and you just assume they belong together. In this case, Dylan McDermott and Game of Thrones are just two great tastes that never actually got around to tasting like anything together.