Emilia Clarke admits she 'cried with fear' after learning about Game of Thrones nude scenes

Emilia Clarke has opened up about the moment she first discovered what her role in Game of Thrones would actually involve

The actress, who played Daenerys Targaryen across all eight seasons of the HBO fantasy epic, has revealed that she broke down in tears when she read her scenes for the first time during a pre-production holiday with her parents.

Speaking to Variety, Clarke said: "I just cried with fear." Daenerys' earliest scenes in the show involve the character being disrobed and groped by her on-screen brother, before being married off to the leader of a nomadic warrior tribe. "Can you imagine the terror?" she added.

Clarke said she "just cried with fear" after learning she'd have to do nude scenes in a room full of strangers (Photo by Vianney Le Caer/Variety via Getty Images)

How old was Emilia Clarke in Game of Thrones?

Clarke was 23 at the time and says the experience reflected a broader insensitivity on set to how a young actress might feel standing nude in front of a room full of strangers - though she is clear that she never experienced anything she would describe as outright misconduct.

"I know what it can be, and on Game of Thrones I never had that," she explained.

Clarke did, however, suggest that other productions had fallen short.

"I've experienced lack of care on other jobs, which I think could have been prevented with some consideration," she said.

When pressed on whether she was referring to Terminator Genisys or Solo: A Star Wars Story - both of which had troubled productions, she declined to name specifics.

"I don't want to specifically say. There's just been a number of occasions where I've been like, 'This ain't right.'

And again, it's not through someone abusing power; it's through lack of thinking and care."

By contrast, she described filming a sex scene for her upcoming Prime Video series Criminal as a completely different experience.

"I walked onto that set and saw the way that director Dee Rees was behaving, and I went to the loo and wept for my younger self, who did not get that."

Emilia Clarke credits Game of Thrones for 'changing her life' (Photo by Aeon/GC Images)

How did Game of Thrones change Emilia Clarke's life?

Despite the difficult early moments, Clarke acknowledges that Game of Thrones transformed her life in almost every way. The financial security it brought allowed her to pay off her parents' mortgage, while the global fame that followed was something she spent years trying to make sense of.

Less publicly known was the severe medical crisis unfolding behind the scenes.

Shortly after wrapping the first season, Clarke suffered a brain haemorrhage, requiring emergency surgery. A second haemorrhage followed after season three. She kept both private for years before going public in 2019, when she launched SameYou, a charity focused on brain injury recovery.

Now, with a string of new projects including Peacock series Ponies and the indie film Next Life premiering at Tribeca, Clarke says she has finally made her peace with everything the show gave her - and took from her.

"I no longer feel trapped in it, or trapped in the result of being in it," she said. "I feel just really lucky that it happened to me."