by Emilia Clarke will forever be remembered for her iconic portrayal of Daenerys Targaryen, the Mother of Dragons, in HBO’s epic fantasy series Game of Thrones. Over the show’s eight seasons, fans watched Daenerys evolve from a frightened girl sold into marriage by her cruel brother, into a powerful and ruthless queen determined to reclaim the Iron Throne.
Clarke recently looked back on her decade-long run on the show, reminiscing about some of her all-time favorite on-set moments. For both the actress and her beloved character, it was quite the emotional rollercoaster ride.
Bonding with Her Dragon ‘Children’ One of Clarke’s absolute favorite parts of playing Daenerys was working closely with her three dragon ‘children’ – Drogon, Rhaegal, and Viserion. The first season saw Daenerys walk into a flaming pyre with fossilized dragon eggs, only to emerge unburnt with three tiny dragons draped over her body.
Clarke said she felt an instant maternal connection to her dragon co-stars. “I loved working with the dragons. They were like my children. I felt a real connection with them.” The bond only grew stronger each season, as Daenerys nurtured her dragons from helpless hatchlings into giant, fiercely loyal beasts.
By Season 7, Drogon had grown large enough for Daenerys to climb onto his back and take to the skies. Clarke gleefully described the experience of riding her dragon: “It’s wonderful to have a great big giant green foam rubber thing that looks like a dragon and to climb on top of.” Though the physical dragon was imaginary, the emotional connection was very real for Clarke. “I really loved working with the dragons,” she said. “They were my babies!”
Behind the Scenes Bonding Beyond her mythical beasts, Clarke also forged tight bonds with the show’s cast and crew over 10 years of filming the epic series. She described the Thrones set as an environment where “I had so much fun,” going on to say, “You create this family environment.”
In particular, Clarke shared a special friendship with co-stars Kit Harington (Jon Snow) and John Bradley (Samwell Tarly) behind the scenes. “Emilia, John and I were kind of the social center there,” said Harington, “which I don’t think people would expect.” Bradley agreed, “We allow ourselves to have fun.” Whether pulling pranks, getting silly on social media, or just cutting loose after an intense day of filming, the trio let off steam together.
On the last day of shooting, Clarke paid tribute to her “family,” posting a set photo with Harington and Bradley captioned with, “The last ones standing in Episode 6…” For Clarke, the bonds she shared with her colleagues were a highlight that eclipsed even the show’s staggering success.
Biggest Shocking Moments While camaraderie may have been the most heartwarming part of Clarke’s Thrones journey, her jaw-dropping reactions to the show’s most gasp-inducing moments definitely created some unforgettable memories as well.
One scene that shocked Clarke as much as viewers was Season 5’s fiery assassination of Princess Shireen. Calling it “just the worst,” Clarke admitted, “I couldn’t bear to do it.” Even knowing Shireen would die did little to lessen the emotional impact for her.
However, no plot twist elicited a bigger real-time freakout from Clarke than the instantly infamous Season 8 scene where Daenerys uses Drogon to burn King’s Landing to a crisp. Readers of George R.R. Martin’s books had long theorized Mad Queen Daenerys could be her ultimate destiny, but Clarke herself was caught totally off-guard.
“What, what, what, WHAT?!” Clarke exclaimed upon first reading the script. “Because it comes out of f**king nowhere. I’m flabbergasted.” Even now, she admits feeling conflicted about her character’s pivotal heel turn, calling it “a tough pill to swallow.” Between the shocking twists and the fond memories, playing the Mother of Dragons left quite an impression on Clarke.
The Infamous Furry Coat Casual Thrones fans may not instantly recognize Clarke in Daenerys’ first Season 2 appearance – clad in a lavish fur coat as she negotiates with Spice King merchants in Qarth. But the actress herself definitely recalls the “insane” experience of wearing the polarizing garment.
“I remember it being the warmest, heaviest, most itchiest, scratchiest, titchiest thing ever,” Clarke said during a commentary of the Qarth scene. Between the coat’s weight, the hot Morocco climate, and her complicated braided updo, Clarke’s discomfort was anything but easy to miss.
“It was so warm, I look distinctly ruffled and just not at all like myself,” Clarke laughed. “I don’t think I was pulling off the vibe.” Even a decade later, just seeing a still image of herself in the fur monstrosity makes the actress cringe and smile.
While few fans would put the furry coat in Daenerys’ fashion highlight reel, for Emilia Clarke, it’s an unforgettable reminder of the role she poured so much of herself into for 10 years.
The Infamous ‘Bleeding Eyes’ Contacts Turns out, she also vividly remembers the agonizing contacts used to transform Daenerys’ violet eyes at key moments. For early publicity shots of Clarke in character, the show wanted to emphasize Daenerys having the quintessential purple eyes of Valyrian dragonlords.
The visionary contacts were intricate and painful, as Clarke told Vulture, saying: “After 10 minutes of shooting I’d be crying, so I could only keep them in for a short time.” Eventually she couldn’t tolerate the contacts at all, so most of Daenerys’ iconic moments on screen feature Clarke acting through her natural brown eyes.
However, one scene pivotal Season 1 scene called for Daenerys’ eyes to turn an ominous blood-red. As Drogo prepared to take the Iron Throne by force, his frightened young wife begged him to abandon the plan, screaming “You’ll bleed yourself dry!” To symbolize her premonition, her eyes flooded with blood.
Clarke endured excruciating special contacts to nail the unsettling scene. “That was drama! That was like having razor blades in my eyes,” she recalled. While costars marveled at the striking visual, Clarke found it torture. Luckily, her big moments after that let her emote freely with her own eyes.
Breaking Language Barriers As Daenerys went from a Dothraki warlord’s wife to the would-be ruler of Westeros, Emilia Clarke had to master dialogue in numerous GoT languages. Dothraki and High Valyrian were wholly fabricated by Game of Thrones linguist David J. Peterson just for the show. Mereeneese was also constructed specifically for Daenerys’ storyline.
Having to deliver pages of fictional language dialogue posed an exciting challenge for Clarke. “It was incredibly difficult and I applaud myself for that,” she said with a laugh.” Her secret weapons? An MP3 recorder and endless repetition, which she used to internalize her Dothraki and High Valyrian lines.
Co-star Conleth Hill (Varys) witnessed Clarke’s tireless dedication firsthand, saying: “Emilia had to learn whole speeches in Dothraki and Valyrian, which couldn’t have been easy.” Eventually, pronouncing intricate new vocabulary flowed as smoothly as English for Clarke. “It’s just repetition and repetition and repetition,” she revealed.
Daenerys’ powerful multilingual commands helped establish the character’s imposing presence. And after much practice, Clarke could seamlessly switch between fictional dialects and Common Tongue dialogue in charged scenes.
The Mother of Dragons Leaves the Nest After a decade embodying Daenerys’ crusade to capture the Iron Throne, Clarke found letting go extremely difficult when GoT wrapped for good. “It was a envy, definite envy of the day when all this finishes, and all the things I’d be able to do,” she said, admitting she vastly underestimated the emotional toll.
“I was just crying, just crying, constantly crying,” she revealed. Saying farewell to her colleagues and the role that had redefined her entire acting trajectory became overwhelming for Clarke. Even nearly 3 years later, she still feels Daenerys like a piece of her soul.
“I really felt for a good year after the show had finished airing that she was still a part of me.” She went so far as to term it “genuine grief” to lose her Thrones alter ego. Clarke confessed, “I couldn’t quite shake myself of Daenerys.”
The bittersweet sensations remind Clarke her journey with the iconic Targaryen queen was a “beautiful thing.” She will cherish every moment, from bonding with dragons to bleeding eyes contacts, forever. And fans around the globe surely echo her sentiments regarding the indelible mark the Mother of Dragons left on all who watched her ascend.
