Game of Thrones Interview: Emilia Clarke (Daenerys Targaryen)
WhatCulture attended a round-table interview with some of the cast and producers of HBO’s award winning new series Game of Thrones.
Game of Thrones. They were in town for the press launch of the Season 1 DVD/Blu-ray, which is available now. We reviewed it HERE. In the lead up to the Season 2 Premier on April 1st, we will be posting the series of interviews to whet your appetites for what will surely be another monumental season. Previously we met Kit Harrington, who plays Jon Snow. Next up is series favourite Emilia Clarke. After only a handful of minor television roles, Emilia found herself playing a lead role in one of HBOs most expensive productions to date. It would later earn her an EWwy Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama. As Daenerys Targaryen, Emilia plays only one of two surviving children of the Mad King Aerys II. Daenerys was born in exile after Roberts Rebellion overthrew her father. Raised in the Free Cities across the Narrow Sea by her cruel brother Viserys (Harry Lloyd), Daenerys is a timid girl who is sold to wife by her brother King to the Dothraki warlord Khal Drogo (Jason Momoa) in exchange for an army. Please note the interview was from a roundtable session and not all questions were asked by WhatCulture Q. So tell us about how you became involved with the show?Emilia: My goodness, how I became involved with the show... auditioned!? Thats pretty much it. Yeah my agent called with the audition, I went in and by the time Id got the second audition Id read the book and was an official fan and a geek! I was just crazy in love with it. So happily by the time I got to L.A. for the screen tests they said yes. Q. How long was the process? Emilia: Ahh, it really wasnt very long it was probably over about a month I think. Yeah it was two auditions in London and the screen test in L.A. and that was it. Q. So if you hadnt got the part, what would you be doing now?Emilia: Yeah I would still be in one of my three jobs that I was doing before I started filming Game of Thrones! So either in a bar somewhere in East London or I was doing a call centre job, I was a waitress an actor! An unemployed actor is what I was doing! Id only just come out of drama school. I was a year out before this happened. Q. So it was definitely a new experience for you? Emilia: Yes! Yeah it was, I never in a million years thought I would be here, doing this, now. It was baptism by fire; I kind of had to learn very quickly, what it was that I needed to do. It was mind-bogglingly incredible! I was three when I said I wanted to be an actor so in that sense its something that Ive always dreamed of doing and always, always, always wanted to do. Then the reality of coming out of drama school, I did an episode on Doctors, and then I did an advert, then eight months later I got Game of Thrones so it was incredibly bizarre but at the same time, when youre going through so many new things and learning so many new things and having new experiences every day, you rarely get a moment to stop and go, Whoa, this is crazy! You kind of just have to keep paddling and keep your head above water. Q. Game of Thrones features a number of very strong female characters, what is it that you like most about Daenerys?Emilia: I think the brilliant thing about Dany is that she doesnt seem to make the same mistake twice. She learns very, very quickly and shes first and foremost a survivor. Shes a Targaryen through and through. Whilst the first time you see her in Season 1 shes very meek and submissive, shes got a iron will in her and the thing that you see is a slow realisation that she just needs to trust herself and trust her own instincts and then thats what kind of gets her to where she needs to go, and I think thats the beautiful thing about playing her is kind of, being a young girl myself, I kind of echoed what she was going through in that sense, which was brilliant. I was hugely exciting and just made me love her even more and yes, I too am a fan of really strong women! 
Q. There are many characters and families all competing for the same prize, what is it that drives Daenerys?Emilia: I think the thing about Dany that separates her from a lot of the other characters in the show is that they often have a kind of egotistical need or desire or a want to get the Iron Throne. Theyre kind of getting one-up on someone or its a family history thats got them to where theyre going. With Dany its her destiny, its something she has absolutely no control over and its something that, if she didnt have this destiny, she probably wouldnt do it, which is why she gets tested so many times and which is why she has such a pure integrity that sees her through, making these difficult choices to be able to get to where she needs to get to. First and foremost she wants to be able to look after her people, she wants to be a leader in that sense. Kind of heavy is the head that wears the crown is sort of the situation for her, and thats what youll see in Season 2 as well. Q. How was it to act using the Dothraki language, which was created exclusively for the show?Emilia: Yeah that was, ah, you knew it was going to be a long day if it was a Dothraki day in filming! Its a real, complete language that you could be fluent in um Im not, fluent. (laughs) But it was a really lovely way of getting into the character even more and getting behind the culture of it. Because Danys learning it for the first time its helpful for me because it is the same thing for me so you can kind of be a bit more tentative with it, but yeah, it was very interesting difficult. Q. And horse riding? Emilia: Id done some horse riding before, like, as a kid, but horse riding on camera is really something else. Its very different when youve got loads of expensive equipment and people surrounding you so yeah I struggled with it but Im continuing with my lessons and hopefully I should get better. Q. Game of Thrones contains a lot of adult content, what was your impression when you first read the scripts and discovered that the show would be like that?Emilia: Yes definitely, but I think its very realistic, its very true to life. It doesnt hide. It shows things as they are and it shows the kind of hardships that people have to go through and I think that is something that is incredibly important to see, especially in Dany. We had loads of discussions beforehand about the particulars, the marriage scenes for example and her first sexual encounter with Drogo. In the books theres a slightly different edge to it but we wanted to show it in terms of the harsh reality that she has to come up against. As an actor you just have to go there, you just have to trust that thats what you need to see from Dany in order to get to where she ends up. So yeah, it is raunchy and its racy and its got a lot of blood and guts and violence but thats why people like it, thats why its not Harry Potter, its not Lord of the Rings, its got some guts to it! Thats what I like about it as well. Q. Is it not nerve racking though, to perform those types of scenes, particularly at this very early stage in your career?Emilia: Hugely! Yeah! I was a young, inexperienced girl, not only with hardly any film experience but definitely no nudity-on-screen experience! So yeah it was petrifying but HBO were wonderful and theyve got a huge amount of integrity to them and they kind of, were there for me and I knew that I was in safe hands. And Jason Momoa is incredible, and wicked, and lovely, and just made it really simple and really easy to do! Q. When you do scenes like that is it awkward? Funny? Strange?Emilia: Yeah because what you see as an audience, hopefully, is an element of truth and a representation of what it would be like in real life. As an actor, when youre filming it, youve got an entire crew you know, youre in a warehouse in Belfast on like, a Tuesday afternoon and so its a matter of you as the actor trying very hard to create your own bubble, your own world, to try and make it as realistic as possible. Q. Whats been the reaction from the male fan base? Any strange fan mail, any marriage proposals? Emilia: (laughs) Theres been no marriage proposals as of yet! What I try to do is, when I first got the job I found myself online and I saw something that wasnt nice, it was very horrible so I vowed from then on to never look at any thing on the Internet, ever! From then on I kind of thought, the safest thing for me to do to keep my sanity, was to not look at anything at all. If someone says something lovely, or if theres something really nice out there or if the fans are happy, which is first and foremost my aim, because when youve got your favourite character in your favourite book its such a special thing, and to have someone come along and kind of make that come to life in a way that youre not happy with can be really horrible for you. So knowing that the fans are happy is wonderful but I never really have to go out and look for it, someone always ends up letting you know, and my mum will probably tell me if its bad! Q. Have you ever been recognised when youre out and about? Emilia: Well because of my hair, I rarely, rarely get recognised but yeah I was in America, in L.A. a couple of weeks ago, and I was in a lift in a department store and the doors opened and this women stood there and looks at me and just went, Khaleesi! and then the doors closed! So that was mental and bizarre and rarely happens but when it does its normally on that kind of crazy scale! Q. Game of Thrones was your baptism by fire as you said, what have you got planned for the future? Any projects in the works?Emilia: Well at the moment Im filming a film in Manchester called Spike Island, that follows the Stone Roses, so its pretty much everything thats completely opposite to Game of Thrones! Q. You also mentioned having discussions about the books, does understanding the books help you inform the scripted Daenerys?Emilia: Definitely! Definitely, if Ive ever looked at the scripts and I think that I dont know why Danys going there or having that motivation or kind of wondering how shes getting from A to B or this scene to that scene, I just have to look at the books and Ill find the answer. Its kind of like my cheat sheet in a way, its like the fountain of all knowledge, its just all there and theres so much history in the narrative that is important to try and get across on screen, silently albeit, but to have that in mind is hugely important. So yeah I knew that if I did that then Id be getting close to how the fans feel about her. Q. Have you met George Martin?Emilia: Yeah I have, hes wonderful, hes incredible! He comes on set and visits quite a lot but at the moment hes writing so we cant disturb him! Every time I see him I just ask him, Whos going to win? and he thinks Im just joking but Im not at all! But most questions we have for him hell answer and I think hes pretty pleased with where its going. Q. Daenerys undergoes a huge transformation during Season 1; can we expect to see something similar in Season 2?Emilia: Yes definitely there is, I think when you leave her in Season 1 you kind of see her on an incredibly, almost spiritual level, its such an epic finale and its with a very practical bump back to earth that you see her in Season 2. Shes kind of dealing with the realities of trying to be taken seriously, particularly as a girl in a mans world. Theres no one for her to hide behind, its not like with the other female characters in the show where theyre someones wife, or someones girlfriend or someones evil red witch whispering in your ear! Its all on her, so in that sense you see a transformation again of her just trying to deal with that. Even the dragons dont seem to make much difference for that! Q. Like Jon Snow, your arc story is completely separate from the main action, what do you enjoy about the other characters and stories?Emilia: Shes got an incredible arc, but there are lots of characters that I like that arent Dany. Definitely Jon Snow, its wicked what he gets to do! I think he stands a very good chance as well because hes not really in the thick of it you know, the scarier side of things. Theon Greyjoy as well, for Season 2, is one of my favourite, favourite characters but other than that, Arya. Shes just brilliant, and Tyrion! Obviously, obviously! In Season 2 hes phenomenal! So, so good. Q. Does being separate in the story mean youre also separate on set? Do you get to see the rest of the cast?Emilia: Well it was funny; we watched the first two episodes of Season 2 the other day and I was introducing myself to people! Hi, Im in a show with you! This is the first time Ive met you! So yeah I dont get to see as many people because Im kind of filming out on my own. 
Q. So how will the second season compare to the first? Emilia: Its just bigger and better basically. Its more confident; everyone seems to have stepped up their game. It feels like Season 2 is just even more epic! I think its better than Season 1 personally. Q. Will the level of violence and sex continue as well? How does HBO get away with it where other networks dont?Emilia: Yes. It is. Not for Dany, thank god! (laughs) But it is pretty out there, but I mean, youve got to be taking risks I think and Season 2 definitely does that. Its because HBO is a subscriber channel, so they dont have to worry about ratings, as many of the enormous television companies in America do. HBO have their own private amount of people, if you want to watch HBO, you have to pay for it so in that sense, theyve got creative freedom, which for an actor is incredible, you get to do whatever you want! You dont have to be monitored and I think thats really good. Thats where you get, you know, cutting edge drama. Q. What would you suggest for any first timers, to read the books first or watch the show?Emilia: Oh my goodness I dont know! Lots have people who have never read the books, saw the series, then went and read the books and they seem to like that, so maybe that way round? Or maybe just read the books first! Q. And how would you sell it to new fans, what is your tag line?Emilia: Whats my tag line? Oh my goodness, um I dont want to say the whole Lord of the Rings meets The Sopranos because its not, um a fantastical gory epic! There you go, (laughs) that was terrible! Thats why I dont do what George does! --- Keep your eyes peeled for the final interview with Series Writers and Executive Producers David Benioff and Dan Weiss, before the Season 2 Premier on April 1st. For our top 10 reasons to watch Season 2, read HERE.