by Emilia Clarke, the beloved actress best known for her iconic portrayal of Daenerys Targaryen on HBO’s smash hit series Game of Thrones, has bravely opened up about her deep-seated fear of fame in a revealing new interview. Speaking candidly with Vanity Fair, Clarke shared that despite her immense success, she remains “terrified” of the concept of fame itself, worrying intensely about the havoc it could potentially wreak on her life and psyche.
“I’m terrified of fame. I’m terrified of what it can do to people. I’ve seen it happen to people I know, and I’ve seen it happen to people I don’t know. And it’s not always pretty,” Clarke confessed.
For the fiercely private actress who values her anonymity, fame is a troubling notion, bringing with it a loss of privacy and relentless public scrutiny that she fears could fundamentally change who she is at her core. Her fears are clearly not baseless. The pressures and toxicity of fame have ruined many a Hollywood career, driving stars to substance abuse, isolation, and mental health crises in extreme cases.
Having witnessed dear friends grappling with the intense stresses of celebrity firsthand, Clarke worries deeply about going down a similar path herself. As she put it, “I’ve seen people become unrecognizable to themselves. I’ve seen people lose their minds. I’ve seen people become so addicted to the attention that they can’t live without it.”
Despite her meteoric rise to global stardom through Game of Thrones, Clarke remains profoundly ambivalent about her celebrity status and the media machine that accompanies it. She opened up about the surreal experience of seeing her face plastered across billboards and buses when GoT took over the cultural zeitgeist.
“It was incredibly strange and trippy, because no part of me ever expected or wanted that kind of attention,” she admitted. For the self-described introvert who cherishes her privacy above all, it was a shocking adjustment to make.
And while Clarke is keenly aware of the privileges her fame has granted her, from starring in blockbuster films to using her platform to champion causes close to her heart, she can’t help but wish she could lead a normal life free of constant public scrutiny.
“Of course I’m grateful for the incredible opportunities that have come my way through fame. But if I’m being honest, there’s a part of me that just wishes I could walk down the street like a normal person and ride the tube in London without being recognized at every turn,” Clarke revealed with refreshing candor.
Indeed, for all its glamour, Clarke’s A-list lifestyle also requires sacrifices and compromises that weigh on her mentally. She spoke about the burden of being expected to always put on a smiling, polished public face, even when going through painful personal struggles behind closed doors.
“There’s this pressure to always look perfect and elegant and magnetic when you step out in public, even if inside you’re crumbling apart from heartbreak or grief or any number of things,” she noted.
Like many stars, Clarke has also had to come to terms with the radical transformation in how she is perceived and judged based purely on her public image, rather than who she is in private.
“It’s profoundly strange when people develop certain ideas about you and feel like they know you intimately, when in reality they’re only seeing this tiny sliver of your life that you’ve chosen to show publically,” she reflected. “It creates all these assumptions that can be frustrating.”
While Clarke is careful to express her gratitude for her career, she remains ambivalent about the invasive scrutiny and loss of anonymity that accompanies her success. The impact on her mental health and sense of self is something she continues to grapple with.
“There are days when I walk on set and feel like the luckiest girl in the world. But there are also days where I struggle a lot with my anxiety over being in the public eye so much and losing my privacy,” she acknowledged.
And her fears about fame have only intensified in the wake of GoT’s wild success, as her star power has reached new heights.
“The show changed my entire world overnight. I went from being able to walk down the street totally unrecognized to suddenly having my face plastered on billboards and buses everywhere,” she recalled. “It’s enormously destabilizing.”
No longer able to blend in easily amongst crowds or go about her daily life unnoticed, Clarke yearns for the simplicity of anonymity and worries about the pressures fame will continue exerting on her in the long run.
Based on her experiences so far, she remains apprehensive about the downsides of being catapulted to A-list fame as a relatively young actress.
“When you become famous very fast and very intensely like I did with GoT, it can warp your sense of self and sanity in ways you didn’t think possible. I never expected it would affect me as deeply as it has,” she admitted.
Particularly as the show progressed and her character became central to the cultural zeitgeist, Clarke was forced to rapidly adjust to a level of public obsession she wasn’t prepared for. And while grateful for her outlet of acting, she remains uneasy with the more superficial trappings of celebrity.
“There’s so much emphasis placed on how you look or present yourself to the public, whereas I just want to focus on the work,” she noted.
Still, despite her candor about the intense pressures of fame, Clarke is determined not to let her fears control her life. Though the prospect of fame gives her great pause, she continues striving for a fulfilling acting career on her own terms.
“While fame does scare me, I refuse to let that fear keep me from pursuing my dreams and doing what I love,” she affirmed.
Indeed, rather than being defeated by the darker aspects of celebrity, Clarke hopes to face them head-on with resilience and perspective. Though fame may remain a source of discomfort for the self-protective star, she is confident she can navigate its hurdles without losing herself in the process.
“At the end of the day, I just try to remember that this career I love so much comes with ups and downs like anything else. I’m still learning how to ride out those downs without crumbling. But I’m determined to stay grounded through it all and not lose sight of who I really am,” she reflected.
By speaking so honestly about her mixed emotions towards fame, Clarke reveals herself once again to be a refreshingly down-to-earth celebrity grounded in realistic perspective. Her willingness to be so vulnerable is certain to resonate with audiences everywhere. Though unequivocally a star, she retains her humility and humanity.
