Emilia Clarke had a tough time doing n*de scenes in Game of Thrones but these were not as challenging as delivering one pivotal sequence in the final season.
Emilia Clarke’s portrayal of Daenerys Targaryen in Game of Thrones required more than just talent—she also had to have the courage to do the n*de scenes, which she believed was more than what the story needed. Despite the pressure, she managed the scenes with so much grace, all in the hope that she would not disappoint the fans.
While these scenes were truly scary to perform, Clarke said there was one that really shook her to the point where she was already on the brink of giving up. It did not require her to strip her clothes, but more of delivering a very important speech.
Performing Dothraki speech was way tougher than filming n*de scenes for Emilia Clarke
Emilia Clarke was only 25 when Game of Thrones debuted on HBO, and it was the most daunting role she’s ever had as she was fresh out of drama school when she booked the job. In Season 1, she already had tons of scenes where she had to bare it all, and while it was overwhelming, she also felt pressured into doing it.
In fact, she revealed in an interview with Dax Shepard’s Armchair Expert that she had argued with the showrunners over those controversial scenes. “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,’” she revealed in the podcast.
While n*de scenes stressed her out, Clarke said her Dothraki speech in the final season of the show terrified her to the bones. In the When Winter Falls documentary (via Express), the English actress revealed she’s aware of how crucial that speech was for the episode.
I knew that speech was going to be really important, and I spent a huge amount of time learning it. And for the first time in my whole Game of Thrones career, I got that word perfect. I’m being so brutally honest here – I was in hell learning that speech. This pretend language was literally eating me up. I couldn’t do it.
Thankfully, her dedication to delivering it paid off. Not only did Clarke manage to utter every word with conviction, but he also sent shivers down the spine of every viewer. Speaking a fictional language proved to be tougher than any other scenes she did in the show.
How speaking Dothraki helped Emilia Clarke during her sickness
Despite the difficulty of learning Dothraki, it helped keep Clarke’s memory in good health, especially during the time she suffered from an aneurysm. The actress revealed in her interview with The Late Show with Stephen Colbert that remembering her lines in the show aided her to stay conscious.
The pressure of her job as the lead character in Game of Thrones brought so many challenges as there were opportunities, and even though she’s had a tough time doing these explicit scenes and reciting made-up languages, Clarke still had a great journey playing the Mother of Dragons.
