
Emilia Clarke opened up about her stint in Game of Thrones and revealed that time and distance made her realize what she had at the early years of her career.
If there’s one role that single-handedly propelled Emilia Clarke to stardom, it’s Daenerys Targaryen. Landing the iconic role and playing the character for eight seasons may have felt like a stroke of luck, and even though she knew what a big responsibility she had on her back, it was still work and an obligation.
Doing the same job for almost a decade and being on set with the same people for years did not feel like a huge thing for Clarke until the show was done. She only realized what a massive thing she had achieved after moving away from the franchise after several years.
Emilia Clarke on distancing herself from Game of Thrones

Game of Thrones was Emilia Clarke’s first major project right after she finished drama school. For someone so young and naive, she didn’t immediately see how significant her participation in this series was until it started to take off. Moreover, she only realized it when they finally wrapped up.
While speaking with People, the English star recalled her time in the hit fantasy show and reflected on how it had impacted her career in the long run. She discovered that time and distance helped her see what she had when she was still playing the Mother of Dragons.
The more distance I have from Game of Thrones, the more I can quantify it. When I started, you don’t know what you’re doing, you don’t know what you’re surrounded by and you don’t know what you’re taking part in. Now, as more and more time goes between it and me doing it, the more I’m like, that was incredibly special and that was incredibly rare.
Clarke could now see the bigger picture, and this inspired her to establish her own production company, Magical Thinking Pictures. Even though she mainly worked in front of the camera, she has learned so much about the behind-the-scenes and technicalities. “I really understand how the sausage is made now,” the actress joked.
She still looks at her experience in the show with so much gratitude despite the challenges she faced, whether it concerned her health or her risqué scenes. The actress also stands by the show’s finale amid the backlash it received from fans.
Emilia Clarke comments on the controversial Game of Thrones Season 8

Clarke may have moved on from the show, but she still gets asked what she thinks about the underwhelming finale. As mentioned, she chose not to harshly criticize it or the showrunners’ decisions.
The 38-year-old beauty approached the story with an open mind. Upon reading the script, she had to do what an actor should do—and that is to agree with her character no matter what. The actress did what she could to bring to life what was written on that paper.
Fans still loved her portrayal of the character as a whole, and many believe no one could ever play Dany’s part as impressively as Clarke.