This post is for those of you who have been wondering why the actress who plays Daenerys Targaryen in season 7 of Game of Thrones, Emilia Clarke, was crying on her first day on set. Spoilers ahead!
Emilia Clarke, who has starred as the Mother of Dragons since 2011 and played Sarah Connor in Terminator: Genisys and Terminator: Salvation before this role, has always been a committed actor. She has said that she will do anything for a scene — even if it means wearing nothing but a bedsheet during her time filming Game of Thrones Season 8.
Game of Thrones and its impact on Emilia Clarke
“I was devastated,” Emilia Clarke has said of the offer. “I didn’t know what to do.”
Emilia Clarke has been a Game of Thrones fan for years. In fact, it was this love for the show that led to her audition for the role of Daenerys Targaryen in the first place. Back in 2011, she remarked to Metro that she had always dreamt of being Khaleesi, “I’ve always loved HBO shows,” she said. “And as soon as I heard there were going to be dragons in it, and I knew they were such an amazing anti-hero – I went and bought the books straight away.”
The show’s creators were so impressed with Emilia Clarke after numerous auditions that they offered her the part right then and there.
“I was devastated,” Emilia Clarke has said of the offer. “I didn’t know what to do.” Eventually, she decided to take the gig — but with a catch. She had one condition for accepting the role: that she be allowed to read the books first before filming began. This is because she felt like she would understand the character better from them than from watching the show on TV.
Emilia Clarke cried on her first day of Games of Thrones because she was shooting a scene while riding a horse through a bamboo field. She ended up falling off. When she realized the whole cast and crew had seen it, she burst into tears of embarrassment. This is according to her co-star Harry Lloyd, who plays Viserys Targaryen in the HBO fantasy series.
Speaking about the start of filming for season one of Game Of Thrones at the BFI & Radio Times Television Festival (which is currently taking place in London), Harry said, “She fell off her horse and I thought ‘That’s great! She’s gone down in true Hollywood fashion on her first day”.
The cast and crew have been busy filming while they are up in Sweden. Fans have been sharing images of Emilia Clarke’s stunt double riding her dragon around town. The actress even posed with co-star John Bradley recently for a shot that was shared on his Instagram page. Emilia Clarke shares a laugh with John Bradley on the season 7 set of Game of Thrones.
Ultimatum
To conclude it all, yes, on the first day of Game of Thrones, Emily Clarke cried! It may not sound like a big deal to those unfamiliar with her show, but those who do know to realize that she is at constant risk of death as she plays Daenerys Targaryen on HBO. And on her first day on set, she was witnessing an execution.
As part of our Behind the Scenes series for Game of Thrones season 7, we’re going to be asking Clarke about this event and what it has been like playing the Mother of Dragons.
Related: Emilia Clarke Opens Up About Surviving Two Brain Hemorrhages
