Emilia Clarke has spoken candidly about the first time she realised what her part in Game of Thrones would require
Clarke, who portrayed Daenerys Targaryen throughout all eight seasons of HBO’s hugely successful fantasy series, said she was overwhelmed when she first read the material. She recalls being on a pre-production trip with her parents when the reality of those early scenes sank in, prompting an emotional reaction.
In an interview with Variety, Clarke explained: “I just cried with fear.” She was referring to the character’s initial storyline, which includes Daenerys being undressed and touched by her on-screen brother, before being married to the leader of a nomadic warrior group. “Can you imagine the terror?” she added.
She was 23 at the time and said the experience highlighted how little consideration there could be for what it feels like for a young actor to be nude in front of a room of unfamiliar people. At the same time, she emphasised that she did not encounter anything she would label as direct wrongdoing during her time on the series.
“I know what it can be, and on Game of Thrones I never had that,” she explained.
However, Clarke suggested that wasn’t always the case elsewhere in the industry.
“I’ve experienced lack of care on other jobs, which I think could have been prevented with some consideration,” she said.
Asked whether she meant Terminator Genisys or Solo: A Star Wars Story—both known to have faced challenging shoots—she chose not to identify any project by name.
“I don’t want to specifically say. There’s just been a number of occasions where I’ve been like, ‘This ain’t right.’
And again, it’s not through someone abusing power; it’s through lack of thinking and care.”
Clarke then contrasted those experiences with what she described as a far more supportive environment on her upcoming Prime Video series Criminal, particularly while filming an intimate scene.
“I walked onto that set and saw the way that director Dee Rees was behaving, and I went to the loo and wept for my younger self, who did not get that.”
While the early days were difficult, Clarke said the show ultimately altered her life profoundly. She has previously noted that the financial stability it provided enabled her to clear her parents’ mortgage, and that the sudden worldwide recognition took time to process.
Behind the scenes, she was also dealing with a serious health battle that the public didn’t learn about until years later.
After finishing season one, Clarke suffered a brain haemorrhage and needed urgent surgery. She later experienced a second haemorrhage following season three. She kept both ordeals private until 2019, when she spoke openly and launched SameYou, a charity supporting recovery for people living with brain injuries.
With more work ahead—including the Peacock series Ponies and the independent film Next Life, which is set to premiere at Tribeca—Clarke says she feels she’s finally reached a calmer place about her time on the series and its long-term impact.
“I no longer feel trapped in it, or trapped in the result of being in it,” she said. “I feel just really lucky that it happened to me.”