The Fan-Favorite Role Emilia Clarke Regrets Filming

Though Emilia Clarke has starred in several films and television shows, many fans will forever remember her as Daenerys Targaryen in "Game of Thrones," a role she played from 2011 to 2019. Daenerys is one of many complex characters in the series. As such, Clarke was required to embody many different emotions in order to show Daenerys' evolution from a frightened girl to a powerful and determined queen. Though many have criticized the way Daenerys' descent into madness was handled during Season 7, Clarke has been highly praised for her work. Proof of that can be seen with her nominations for Emmy awards in 2013, 2015, 2016, and 2019.

Clarke has been very outspoken about her "Game of Thrones" role over the years (via The Hollywood Reporter), the growth both she and Daenerys have gone through during that time, and the controversy surrounding the final episodes. Though the HBO fantasy series was an instant hit that arguably put her on the radar, there is one aspect of the series that she disliked doing and, even more so, disliked others watching.

In "Game of Thrones," sex and nudity are not presented on screen purely for pleasure. These elements also function as means of character development, and they help move the plot. This is especially true with Daenerys Targaryen. In her first scene, she walks into a boiling bath with ease, likely foreshadowing her destiny as the Mother of Dragons. Later in Season 1, when she steps out of the pyre, she is completely naked with her young dragons, Drogon, Rhaegal, and Viserion. Just like her children hatching from the fire, Daenerys is beginning to hatch as well, symbolizing the start of a long and emotional journey.

Emilia Clarke recognizes the importance of such scenes. However, they were hard to do, whether they were done to show Daenerys' romantic relationships or her growth as a leader. During a 2019 episode of the "Armchair Expert" podcast with Dax Shepherd, she even revealed just how deeply filming nude scenes unnerved her (via Variety). In addition to these scenes being terrifying to film, Clarke also hated when her parents would see her onscreen without clothes. 

During a 2016 interview on "Live with Kelly" (via EW), she spoke about the Season 6 episode "Book of the Stranger." In the episode, Daenerys burns a temple, kills the Khals, and then walks out naked and unscathed to gain the allegiance of the Dothraki. It is vital to Daenerys' growth and parallels the Season 1 finale, but Clarke regretted watching the episode with her parents. Though they had complained she wasn't doing much, she recalled that "I ended up sitting them down and being like, 'Let's watch it' — and then instantly regretting it. My dad was like, 'Again?'"