Emilia Clarke’s role as Daenerys Targaryen in Game of Thrones truly set her on the road to stardom early in her career. Despite the Mother of Dragons being just Clarke’s third acting credit, she ended up getting a ton of awards recognition and became one of the most iconic stars in all of television during the fantasy series' run on HBO. Now that it’s been five years since the finale, the British actress talks about realizing what she truly had with the award-winning series compared to most other roles.
The journey to land the Game of Thrones role of Daenerys Targaryen was not an easy one for Emilia Clarke. She entered the world of Westeros when the unsuccessful original pilot was already filmed. Following auditioning rounds in Soho and Los Angeles, executive producers were fighting for HBO to sign off on Clarke despite being an unknown actress at the time. After doing some insane moves like the chicken dance, the Primetime Emmy nominee nailed the role and became a member of House Targaryen.
It’s true that Emilia Clarke’s time flying with dragons has been long over. However, she chatted with People and reflected on her time on the HBO series and how “distance” gave her a greater appreciation for her experience:
The more distance I have from Game of Thrones, the more I can quantify it... When I started, you don't know what you're doing, you don't know what you're surrounded by and you don't know what you're taking part in.
Heading into a brand-new acting project undoubtedly brings a lot of uncertainty. History has shown that shows can get canceled despite a passionate fanbase. Fortunately, Game of Thrones received the best kind of news almost immediately, with a renewal for Season 2 just days after the premiere back in 2011. With the huge fanbase that followed, Emilia Clarke’s name was on the map and catapulted her career. Playing a role like Daenerys Targaryen showed audiences Clarke’s range, starting in the series as a delicate flower and becoming a force of nature over eight seasons.
The talented actress has said how it “means the world” to her that fans are still attached to Game of Thrones. After all, the popularity of the series led to Westeros continuing to grow on HBO with House of the Dragon’s third season starting production and another prequel series, Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, set to release sometime this year. Emilia Clarke admits that the more time has passed between filming Daenerys’ last scene and now, the more her heart stays with the show:
Now, as more and more time goes between it and me doing it, the more I'm like, that was incredibly special and that was incredibly rare.
It was just as special for audiences to see Emilia Clarke shine bringing George R.R. Martin’s famed character to life. Even if the Magical Thinking Pictures founder will forever be remembered as Daenerys Targaryen, Clarke still had plenty to do outside of Game of Thrones. For example, she gave us feel-good vibes and tears in romances like Me Before You and Last Christmas.
The Terminator Genisys actress also joined the MCU with her next big TV series Secret Invasion and will be lending her voice in the 2025 Netflix movie The Twits. We need to keep our eye out for her upcoming crime drama series Criminal, set to be available on your Amazon Prime subscription soon.
Despite having moved on to other roles since her last episode of Game of Thrones, Emilia Clarke had to “distance” herself away from the series to truly appreciate her time there. The love audiences still have for the Golden Globe-nominated series endures, and you can feel free to revisit Daenerys Targaryen and other Game of Thrones characters raising hell on your Max subscription.
