17 movie and TV roles you may not have realized were recast with new actors

The change in the appearance of the Night King in "Game of Thrones" easily went unnoticed under all the make-up and CGI that the character endures.

However, after season five, Richard Brake was replaced by stunt performer Vladimir Furdik.

Throughout the beginning of the NBC comedy "The Office," actress Shannon Cochran plays Pam Beesly's mother.

But on season six, episode five ("Niagara: Part 2"), actress Linda Purl appears as Pam's mother instead.

At the end of "The Avengers," fans got a tease of what was to come for Marvel's next two phases with a scene introducing the new villain, Thanos.

Damion Poitier filled this role, unceremoniously credited as "Man #1."

When Marvel needed a bigger name to fill Thanos's shoes, Josh Brolin was cast for "Avengers: Infinity War."

Mila Kunis is now famous for voicing the role of Meg on the animated series "Family Guy," but she was not the original voice actress.

"Mean Girls" star Lacey Chabert was the voice of Meg for the entire first season before leaving due to other obligations. They eventually acknowledged this swap during a season-eight gag.

"Friends" has a huge fanbase and many binge-watchers may have likely noticed this change by now. However, when Ross's ex-wife Carol first appears on season one she was played by Anita Barone.

Later on, Barone was replaced by Jane Sibbett, who went on to make the character her own.

The CW drama "Gossip Girl" featured actress Florencia Lozano as Blair's mom, Eleanor Waldorf, on the pilot.

But by episode four, she'd been replaced by Margaret Colin.

During the season-four finale, Bran finally met the Bloodraven, played by British actor Struan Rodger.

But a few seasons later he was replaced by the well-known Swedish actor Max Von Sydow.

In her only credited role, actress Jennifer Smith played Lavender Brown in the "Harry Potter" film, "The Prisoner of Azkaban," which was her only appearance in the franchise.

The role of Lavender was recast as Jessie Cave in "The Half-Blood Prince."

Unnoticed at the time, discussions about diversity in the "Harry Potter" series and spin-offs have ignited debate over whether the recasting of the role was a result of whitewashing.

The antagonist of the original "Star Wars" trilogy, Emperor Palpatine was played by Marjorie Eaton and then voiced by Clive Revill in his first appearance in "The Empire Strikes Back."

For "Return of the Jedi" and the prequel films, Ian McDiarmid was cast in the role.

On "Arrested Development," Ann was George Michael's often-forgotten girlfriend. She was played by Alessandra Torresani on the first season but replaced by Mae Whitman on the second.

In the original Pixar superhero hit, middle child Dash was voiced by child actor Spencer Fox.

In the 2018 reboot, "Incredibles 2" Fox was replaced with Huckleberry "Huck" Milner, due to the fact that the sequel takes place immediately following the original, even though it debuted 14 years after the first movie released.

This role of The Mountain has been recast twice. On the first season, Gregor Clegane was played by Conan Stevens. Recurring "Game of Thrones" actor Ian Whyte took up the Mountain mantle on season two.

From season four on, the role was filled by the strongest man in the world Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson.

In the first "Harry Potter" movie, the Goblin banker Griphook was played by Verne Troyer but voiced by Warwick Davis.

Davis, who also played Professor Flitwick in the franchise, went on to take over the role.

The love interest of Marty McFly, Jennifer Parker was originally portrayed by Claudia Wells.

For parts two and three of the film series, Wells was recast and the role of Jennifer was played by Elisabeth Shue. The time-traveling nature of the second movie forced scenes from the first movie to be remade shot for shot, with Shue as Jennifer instead of Wells.

Despite winning an Oscar for her performance in the 1991 film "Silence of the Lambs," Jodie Foster dropped out of playing Clarice in the flick's sequel.

Julianne Moore replaced Foster in the 2001 movie "Hannibal."

Gordon Robinson is an original Sesame Street resident that has been on the show since its debut in 1969.

Played by Matt Robinson on the first three seasons, Hal Miller took on the role for the following two seasons.

But from season six on, actor Roscoe Orman has been Gordon.

On the 1960 "Batman" TV show, Lee Meriwether, Julie Newmar, and Eartha Kitt all played the caped crusader's nemesis, Catwoman. That's one Catwoman per season.