Emilia Clarke has shared an unusual incident where she ‘broke a rib’ while filming a sex scene with three men.
The Game of Thrones actress is back on television in a new spy thriller series called Ponies.
This latest series is set in the 1970s during the Cold War era. Clarke stars as Bea, a widowed secretary who turns into a CIA operative at the American embassy located in Moscow, Russia. Along with her colleague Twila, played by Haley Lu Richardson, the duo delves into investigating their husbands’ deaths.
Clarke’s character, Bea, engages in intimate encounters with several top operatives within the KGB.
After the show’s premiere on January 15 on Peacock, Clarke and Richardson discussed with TheWrap how the incident unfolded. The 39-year-old actress recounted the experience during their interview.
“Three men, in a number of hours,” Clarke recalled about a specific filming day. “Just keep bringing it — I’m going to sit on this thing, you’re going to bring them in, we’re going to pretend to have sex. I broke a rib that day.”
Richardson confirmed the story, stating: “She really did. She’s such a tiny little sensitive body, meant she broke a rib.”
Richardson recounted being in hair and make-up while Clarke was filming, witnessing the men return to have their make-up removed.
She commented: “I was like ‘So how was it?’ They were like ‘Yeah! (panting).“
Clarke explained that when her doctor asked about the cause of the injury, she humorously admitted: “Sex! Times three!”
Fortunately, the injury wasn’t severe. When The Edge of Seventeen star inquired about her condition, Clarke reassured: “It didn’t like, fully break, it just popped out a little bit.”
Clarke has openly talked about a significant health crisis over a decade ago that left her anxious about her acting career’s future.
In an interview with the Big Issue in 2024, Clarke reflected on her two life-threatening brain hemorrhages that occurred in 2011 and 2013 during the filming of Game of Thrones.
She previously recounted the ‘excruciating pain’ and frequent vomiting caused by the brain injuries, leaving her struggling to remain conscious and maintain cognitive function.
“When you have a brain injury, because it alters your sense of self on such a dramatic level, all of the insecurities you have going into the workplace quadruple overnight,” Clarke said to the publication.
“The first fear we all had was: ‘Oh my God, am I going to get fired? Am I going to get fired because they think I’m not capable of completing the job?’”
Clarke expressed her concern upon returning to work after her initial brain injury, fearing she might die while performing her role.
She recalled thinking: “Well, if I’m going to die, I better die on live TV.”