Game of Thrones was widely known for its racy scenes, many of which involved Emilia Clarke who played Daenerys Targaryen. Now, in the wake of GoT, the actress has revealed that it’s set a precedent for her career.
During her appearance on Dax Shepard’s podcast Armchair Expert, the actress claimed that on a project post-GoT, she was pressured to go nude so as not to “disappoint” fans.
“I’m a lot more savvy [now] with what I’m comfortable with, and what I am okay with doing,” she said.
“I’ve had fights on set before where I’m like, ‘No, the sheet stays up’, and they’re like, ‘You don’t wanna disappoint your Game of Thrones fans’. And I’m like, ‘Fuck you’.”
The “Last Christmas” star added that she felt overwhelmed by the “f–k ton of nudity” in the show’s pilot season.
Clarke said she had initially convinced herself that baring all on camera was “completely fine,” but still struggled with the idea of stripping down.
“I’d been on a film set twice before then, and I’m now on a film set completely naked with all of these people, and I don’t know what I’m meant to do, and I don’t know what’s expected of me,” she said.
However, “Aquaman” actor Jason Momoa, who played her husband Khal Drogo in the first season of “Game of Thrones,” taught her to set boundaries, reports the Independent.
“It was definitely hard,” she said. “Which is why the scenes, when I got to do them with Jason, were wonderful, because he was like, ‘No, sweetie, this isn’t okay.’ And I was like, ‘Ohhhh.’
Clarke has since set some ground rules, which explains the comparative lack of Khaleesi nudity in the show’s later seasons. Not to mention one scene where Daenerys commands Daario Naharis, played by hunky Dutch actor Michiel Huisman, to strip in front of her, reports Uproxx.
“I’m a lot savvy now with what I’m comfortable with, and what I am okay with doing,” she added.
Clarke is currently starring in Paul Feig’s rom-com “Last Christmas,” now in theaters, with “Crazy Rich Asians” star Henry Golding.