Emilia Clarke explains how playing Daenerys changed her life
With Game of Thrones over and done with, fans are missing their Sunday evenings spent immersed in the wide world of Westeros and beyond. And they’re not the only ones coping with the sad realization that we’ll never again see Sansa or Arya or Jon Snow on our screens again. The stars have also been opening up about how hard it’s been to part with the roles they’ve played for nearly a decade.
In a Variety interview between Emilia Clarke (Daenerys) and Black Monday star Regina Hall, Clarke talked about how playing the Mother of Dragons impacted her life. Watch the interview in its entirety here:
It’s difficult to fathom that Clarke was only 23 when she became the Daenerys Targaryen, especially after seeing how far she’s taken the character. But success comes with sacrifice, like giving up the ordinary life of a 20-something. “I literally started Game of Thrones, and that was pretty much it,” she said. “I missed out on all of it because the show happened throughout all of my 20s, which is when you should be wild.”
Of course, part of that missing out had to do with her having “a couple of brain hemorrhages” during those years, as Clarke detailed in a piece she wrote for The New Yorker. Since opening up about her health struggles, Clarke has launched a charity, SameYou, which raises money for brain injury recovery. She’s also taking to Instagram to raise awareness about her experience, and been incredibly grateful for the support she’s received in return.
Clarke has been vocal about how playing Daenerys helped her through the time spent dealing with her brain injuries. “I always say that Daenerys literally saved my life,” she explained, “because it puts you in quite the headspace when you’ve had a brain injury.
"Walking in her shoes, I just put so much more into each season because it really was life or death. I felt so powerfully that she was saving me. I could only see her. That was my single point of focus that allowed me to not think about anything scarier than just getting on set."
Of course, developing that sort of bond with a character makes it even more difficult to say farewell. And while Clarke began her Game of Thrones journey as a waitress who was simply happy to be getting a regular paycheck, she came out of it in a very different headspace.
"Having it come to its completion feels utterly surreal. So much life has happened in the 10 years that I’ve been on the show. I’ve grown into a woman. I was 23. It’s been almost a year in post, and it’s taken me that long to come to terms with it."
Even as the series finale aired, Clarke still lamented having to close the “mother of dragons chapter” of her life.
Thankfully, Clarke hasn’t had to suffer alone. It’s clear from similar interviews and social media posts that the other Game of Thrones stars are having just as much difficulty coping with the show’s end as she is. “You saw for the first time everyone’s truthful fragility coming through as it ended,” Clarke said. “You’re putting on all this thing like it’s fine, it’s fine. When it did finally end, it broke everyone.”
We can certainly relate. And Clarke doesn’t even have a souvenir from the set to ease the transition. “I didn’t take anything, and I deeply regret it, and I’m very annoyed,” she said. “I’m really hoping that the showrunners give me a dragon. I need my smelly socks. I think I did take those.”
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But thankfully, with Clarke’s acting talent, it’s only a matter of time before Game of Thrones fans can watch her excel at portraying a new role. “It’s a perfect time for us to leave because, in the beginning, TV wasn’t what it is now,” Clarke said. “Now it is, and I feel that finishing this show here is literally like, let everyone create this — more intricate storytelling and spectacles on television.”
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