Carice van Houten could have had a very different experience on Game of Thrones. And I mean very different. According to an interview with van Houten in Syfy Wire, she was asked to audition for the role of Cersei Lannister ahead of season 1, but couldn’t do it due to scheduling conflicts. How different the world might have been…

Of course, things worked out, with van Houten returning before season 2 and going on to play the Red Woman Melisandre. But while she knew the part was good, she had some reservations about playing the role. “Apart from the fact that it was well written, I just thought, ‘Is this for me’?” she wondered.

To help her make a decision, Van Houten turned to an unexpected source: Seth Meyers. Now, I was perplexed when I first read that too, but it turns out van Houten actually dated Myers’ brother and knew that Myers was a big fantasy fan. Van Houten recalls sending Myers a text asking if she could play Melisandre. His response? “Are you crazy? This is the coolest thing ever!”

So it looks like we have Seth Myers to thank for Carice Van Houten as Melisandre. This also explains their teaming up on bits over the years.

But landing the role wasn’t the end of it, particularly for a role this mysterious. Clearly, Melisandre has an interesting past, but showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss would only give van Houten one clue going in. “Oh, by the way, she’s really old, but we’ll get to that later.” Understatement of the series.

I was thrown into the deep end. Every year, I tried and tried to get them to tell me more, and only got a minimal amount of information. But that was also good, because it made me create something for myself. And I hoped they would let me know if I was going in the wrong direction.

Van Houten’s Game of Thrones journey was a conflicted one, because how can it not be when you’re playing a character who burns a child alive at the stake? The scene where Shireen Baratheon dies came at a turning point in van Houten’s life, both personally and professionally. “My favorite thing was when she hears that the burning of Shireen was all for nothing,” van Houten remembered. “Her whole world comes tumbling down in that moment. After Shireen’s death, I felt like I was playing a completely different character.”

After that scene, van Houten received death threats from some fans, which is unfortunate but kind of expected — respect boundaries, people, yeesh. Of course, things changed when she brought Jon Snow back to life, and the fan reaction didn’t affect van Houten’s own take on the character:

I never saw her as evil. I didn’t want to play her as a Cruella de Vil. But for a few seasons, I was the most hated character, because I burnt a child alive. I don’t blame them. But after the Battle of Winterfell, everyone sort of forgot that!

I think we can all agree that not only was Carice Van Houten the perfect choice to play Melisandre, but she also played the hell out of that role, right up until the Red Woman’s dying breath. It’s a shame she didn’t win the Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama, but we all know how lucky we were with her.

To stay up to date on everything fantasy, science fiction, and WiC, follow our all-encompassing Facebook page and sign up for our exclusive newsletter.

Watch Game of Thrones for FREE with a no-risk, 7-day free trial of Amazon Channels

h/t Bustle