Emilia Clarke accepts Britannia Award, with thanks to Game of Thrones
By Corey Smith
This past Friday, Emilia Clarke (Daenerys Targaryen) was honored with the Britannia Award for British Artist of the Year, given out by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) at its annual awards ceremony in…Beverly Hills.
The Britannia Award is given annually to “celebrate the work and accomplishments of the distinguished honorees and gather to celebrate the fruitful relationship between the UK and US industries.” Well, Clarke’s role on Game of Thrones certainly qualifies her for that. Also honored the same evening were actors Jim Carrey, Cate Blanchett, Damian Lewis, director Steve McQueen and Marvel Studio guru Kevin Feige.
Being an award ceremony, there were speeches aplenty. Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss came out to present Clarke with her award, and had a lot of fun stories about her time on the show, including her second and final audition, which happened in front of the president of HBO. Even though Clarke had already filmed the pilot, this unnamed HBO president still wasn’t sure if she was right for the role, but she got there…
"Emilia asked if there was anything else she could do to lighten the mood and David asked, ‘Can you dance?’ And without missing a beat, Emilia did the robot. She did it with commitment and she did it well…and even the president had no choice but to smile. She got the job 10 seconds after she left the room and the two of us ran to tell her before she left the building because letting her get on an 11-hour flight home without knowing seemed like cruel and unusual punishment."
That’s the kind of commitment we expect from the Mother of Dragons. Also, did you know that her full name is Emilia Isabel Euphemia Rose Clarke?
Watch Benioff and Weiss’ full introduction below, plus Clarke’s acceptance speech and a highlight reel with commentary from Thrones costars Sophie Turner and Nathalie Emmanuel:
“[Benioff and Weiss] deserve their own bravery award for hiring someone who’s biggest job until then was catering kids parties dressed as Snow White. Be kind to your servers, everyone, they might be thanking you in a speech someday.” Words to live by. Many congratulations to Clarke!
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