How Emilia Clarke went from unknown actress to Mother of Dragons on 'Game of Thrones'
Publish date: 2024-06-28
2016-05-23T17:42:00Z 
Just a few short years ago, actress Emilia Clarke had just two filming credits on her résumé: walk-on roles in a soap opera and a made-for-TV movie. Now the Mother of Dragons earns a reported $500,000 per episode in "Game of Thrones," the most-watched show in HBO history.
Let's take a look back at how Clarke rose to fame.
Born in the fall of 1986, Emilia Clarke grew up in the picturesque county of Buckinghamshire, in the south of England.
Source: Marie Claire
A girlie-girl, she developed an early obsession with Audrey Hepburn in "My Fair Lady." She would often say, "I swear on Chanel," when she wanted to be taken seriously.
Source: Harpers Bazaar
Clarke attended the famed Drama Centre London, which counts Colin Firth, Michael Fassbender, and Tom Hardy among its alumni.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
Her first television appearance was a walk-on role in "Doctors," a UK soap opera based in a fictitious hospital.
She also played a teen in the made-for-TV movie "Triassic Attack." The film follows a sheriff as he battles three dinosaur fossils brought to life in a small town.
She was working six jobs to pay the rent. When her agent called to say she landed an audition for a new HBO show, Clarke had to call in sick to her catering job.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
In preparation for the "Game of Thrones" audition, she "Wikipedia-ed the crap out of" George R.R. Martin's "A Song of Ice and Fire" series and listened to Tupac music.
Source: Marie Claire and The Hollywood Reporter
"This character needed to step into Joan of Arc territory, to deliver a messianic level of intensity," showrunner D.B. Weiss told The Hollywood Reporter." There was only one actress who could do that.”
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
Clarke's character, Daenerys Targaryen, is a strong, confident, and courageous young woman on a quest to reclaim the Iron Throne for the House of Targaryen.
In season one, Daenerys hatched three dragons, earning her the moniker "mother of dragons." In real life, Clarke wears a golden necklace inscribed with the initials "MOD," given to her by showrunners Weiss and David Benioff.
Source: Marie Claire
She's since tried to steal the dragon eggs from set, to no avail.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
Following the show's success, Clarke, Peter Dinklage (Tyrion Lannister), Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Jaime Lannister), Kit Harington (Jon Snow), and Lena Headey (Cersei Lannister), banded together to negotiate higher salaries.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
Clarke will reportedly make $7 million a season by season seven.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
Through it all, Clarke's managed to stay out of the spotlight and out of trouble. She briefly dated "Family Guy" creator Seth MacFarlane.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
She manages to go unnoticed in public because her natural dark hair looks nothing like Daenerys' wispy, platinum locks.
Source: Harpers Bazaar
In 2015, Clarke starred alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger in "Terminator Genisys," Paramount's 31-year-old franchise. She had top billing as Sarah Connor.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
This year, she plays a small town working girl in the "Notebook-esque" romantic drama "Me Before You," alongside Sam Claflin.
Later in 2016, Clarke stars in the psychological thriller, "Voice from the Stone." The movie was shot at a castle in Italy.
There have been opportunities she's turned down, too. Clarke refused the lead role in "Fifty Shades of Grey" because she didn't want to be labeled for doing nudity.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
As the HBO series heads into its final seasons, there's still more work to be done. "'Game of Thrones' opened a lot of doors," Clarke said in an interview with Harpers Bazaar. "It opened them all."
Source: Harpers Bazaar
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