Before Emilia Clarke became the iconic Mother of Dragons, she barely knew what ‘Game of Thrones‘ was. In fact, when her agent first mentioned the fantasy drama, the actress thought he was speaking nonsense.
Years later, Clarke is looking back on the life-changing audition that launched her career, while also reflecting on the highs, heartbreaks, and lessons she carried from the phenomenon that transformed her life forever.
Emilia Clarke Had No Idea What ‘Game Of Thrones’ Was
Today, Emilia Clarke is inseparable from Daenerys Targaryen, but that almost wasn’t the case. While speaking about her journey to stardom, Clarke revealed that she knew nothing about ‘Game of Thrones‘ when her agent first called her about an audition. At the time, she was working at the London Film Museum when she rushed to answer the phone.
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Recalling the conversation in a Variety interview, Clarke said: “I was like ‘Hello?’ And he said, ‘You ever audition for “Game of Thrones?”’ I was like, ‘You’ve just said gobbledygook. I have no idea what we’re talking about.’”
The timing turned out to be incredibly fortunate. HBO had already filmed an original pilot featuring another actress as Daenerys, but after receiving negative feedback, the network decided to rework much of the episode and recast several key roles. Following multiple auditions in both London and Los Angeles, Clarke landed the role that would eventually make her a global star.
Getting there had not been easy. Clarke spent two years applying to drama schools without success and only secured a place at Drama Center London after another student dropped out at the last moment. Looking back, both her acceptance into drama school and her casting in ‘Game of Thrones‘ came down to opportunities appearing at exactly the right time.
The Audition Success Came With Unexpected Fear
Although Clarke celebrated landing the role, the excitement quickly gave way to anxiety. “I genuinely had three weeks of parties,” she recalled after being cast. However, everything changed when she finally sat down and read Daenerys’ scenes while on vacation with her parents.
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The actress admitted she was overwhelmed by what awaited her. “I just cried with fear,” she recalled. Daenerys’ first scenes involved nudity and uncomfortable interactions with her on-screen brother, leaving the young actress terrified. “Can you imagine the terror?” she asked.
Despite those early fears, Clarke made it clear that she did not experience serious misconduct while filming ‘Game of Thrones‘. “Because I know what it can be”, she’s talking about the “bad stuff”, “and on ‘Game of Thrones’ I never had that,” Clarke explained. Still, she acknowledged experiencing situations on other productions where more care could have been shown toward actors. “I’ve experienced lack of care on other jobs,” she replied, “which I think could have been prevented with some consideration.”
As ‘Game of Thrones‘ exploded into a cultural phenomenon, Clarke’s life changed dramatically. The success provided financial stability and allowed her to pay off her parents’ mortgage. However, she laughed off long-standing reports about the cast’s massive salaries. “We didn’t earn that much. Can you imagine? I’d have been driving a couple of Porsches!” she joked.
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