Emilia Clarke doesn’t want to be typecast for her Game of Thrones role
By Dan Selcke
This weekend, audiences got a taste of Emilia Clarke as Sarah Connor in Terminator Genisys, the actress’ highest profile movie role to date. Of course, Clarke is best known to us, and to TV audiences in general, as Daenerys Targaryen, the Mother of Dragons and the Breaker of Chains and all the rest on HBO’s Game of Thrones. She talked about both parts in a recent interview with Metro. She gave what was arguably her most interesting quote when discussing the various roles she’s played thus far in her career.
"Television gave me a boost, but I don’t want people to remember me as Daenerys Targaryen from “Game of Thrones”."
Now, when read out of context, it might be easy to take this quote the wrong way. What would be wrong, certain readers might ask, with being remembered as the actress who played Daenerys Targaryen, a prominent role on one of the most popular, influential series currently on TV? Still, Clarke is a young actress with a long career hopefully in front of her, and it makes sense to start looking toward the future. As she admits later in the interview, Game of Thrones won’t be on the air indefinitely.
"I worry about “Game of Thrones” ending, because it is a very important part of my life as a woman and actress. But you know what they say: dreams don’t last forever."
It also makes sense that she’d want to avoid typecasting. Hollywood is littered with actors who were unable to turn their television success into movie super-stardom. To take another genre example, think about how Sarah Michelle Gellar, of Buffy the Vampire Slayer fame, had trouble making it big as a movie star after appearing in horror flick The Grudge, a casting choice it’s easy to read as an attempt to play on her success fronting a horror-themed TV show. Clarke is definitely at a point in her career when she has to make smart choices about what roles she plays.
Unfortunately, her choice to play Sarah Conner may not, at least from this limited vantage point, work out for her in the long term. The movie has underwhelmed at the U.S. box office and taken a beating from critics, although it’s admittedly early to start guessing how it’ll effect Clarke’s value as a box-office draw. She still has her considerable talent and a lot of visibility—as with any performer, it’ll be up to her what she does with them.
For more of the interview, including Clarke’s feelings regarding nude scenes and Daenerys’ status as a feminist icon, head over to Metro.