Emilia Clarke fought back against Game of Thrones bosses to keep Daenerys Targaryen’s behaviour true to character, a new book has revealed.
The actor, who played dragon queen Daenerys on the HBO fantasy series for eight years, revealed in James Hibberd’s new book Fire Cannot Kill a Dragon that over the years she knew the character well enough to stand her ground when it came to unrealistic changes.
“There were a number of times I was like, ‘Why are you giving me that note?’,” Clarke recalled (via Winter is Coming).
“While I am quite consistently a ‘How can I help?’ kind of person, there were a few moments where I was like, ‘Don’t tell me what to do with my girl. I know what to do!’”
The actor shared her frustration with the fact that Daenerys became known for “cold expressionlessness”, saying that she wanted to bring more humanity to the character.
“I would sometimes fight back a little, [saying] ‘I get that she has to be steely and unforgiving and a powerful force. But in this moment she’s also a goddamn human being. So I’m going to give you that and I really pray that you take that in the edit.’”
Game of Thrones came to an end in 2019 after eight seasons.
Its final season, in which Daenerys goes mad and burns down King’s Landing, is considered one of the most controversial show endings of all time, with many fans arguing that her actions were out of character.
