Today in Game of Thrones stars doing good, Emilia Clarke (Daenerys Targaryen) has become an ambassador for the UK’s Royal College of Nursing and poured £30,000 into the Anima Foundation, a charity dedicated to educating people “in all subjects relating to brain injuries and promoting and protecting the health of individuals who have experienced, or are at risk of experiencing, a brain injury.”
Emilia Clarke: the Unburnt, Queen of the Andals and the First Men, Khaleesi of the Great Grass Sea, Breaker of Chains, Mother of Dragons, and medical philanthropist.
As reported by the Independent, Clarke sounded very passionate about her role with the Royal College of Nursing. “The vast majority of healthcare in our lifetime will come from nurses,” she said. “Nevertheless, they too often fall victim to outdated ideas that leave fantastic nurses overlooked, under-appreciated and underpaid.”
"The money the NHS has to keep our nurses trained and at the forefront of healthcare has been cut in half this year in England. And young people who have the drive and commitment are being put off by the new fees they must now pay to train. I am fiercely proud of my new role as ambassador and vow to use it to champion nurses and their work. Together, we must attract young people into the profession, support them to innovate and become the powerful nurses of tomorrow."
As for the Anima Foundation, The Daily Mail reports that the group has already begun speaking with neuroscientists, politicians and philanthropists. Trustees include neurosurgeon and author Henry Marsh, former Childline policy director Hereward Harrison, and Clarke’s own mother, Jennifer.
In other news, Game of Thrones veteran Natalie Dormer (Margaery Tyrell) is headlining a new TV version of Picnic at Hanging Rock, based on an Australian novel about a group of schoolgirls who disappear during a Valentine’s Day outing to the titular location. Dormer plays Mrs. Hester Appleyard, the school headmistress. Check out the trailer:
Picnic at Hanging Rock will air on Showcase in Australia, the BCC in the UK, and Canal+ in France. For the rest of us, Amazon Video has helpfully picked up the show.
Also in trailers: Maisie Williams (Arya Stark) and Stephen Dillane (Stannis Baratheon) are both appearing in Mary Shelley, about the author behind the science fiction/horror classic Frankenstein. Williams (as Shelley’s friend Isabel Baxter) show up in the trailer only briefly, and Dillane (as Shelley’s father, author William Godwin) not at all, but it still looks like a good yarn:
Finally, remember when Rose Leslie (Ygritte) talked about how hard it was to avoid Game of Thrones spoilers when being engaged to Kit Harington (Jon Snow). That’s a problem that all significant others of Game of Thrones stars must encounter, including singer Joe Jonas, who’s engaged to Sophie Turner (Sansa Stark). But as he explained on hit105’s Stav, Abby and Matt, Turner makes it easy for him. “I wish I could say anything but the truth is, she doesn’t give me spoilers.”
"So I kind of respect it because I’m a fan of the show and I’m a big nerd at heart, so if I was told how things were gonna turn out, I probably would have been disappointed because we have to wait so long for the next season."
Would that it were always that easy.
Next: Season 8 filming: The Red Keep shows up on the King’s Landing set in Belfast
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