Emilia Clarke Says She Had No Control Over Daenerys' Character or Fate on Game of Thrones

Game of Thrones histrion Emilia Clarke has discussed having nary power implicit her quality Daenerys Targaryen's storyline, dialog oregon eventual destiny — including successful the series' polarizing finale.

Speaking to Variety, Clarke said she "didn't person immoderate originative input" connected her role, though hadn't sought retired immoderate either, believing she was "not qualified." Still, she noted that the series' showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss had been "fastidious" that actors stuck to their scripts, with retakes indispensable for adjacent tiny differences — specified arsenic if she said "it's" alternatively of "it is."

"Aside from what I brought arsenic an actor, I didn't person immoderate originative input, nor did I privation any," Clarke said, answering again with a level "no" erstwhile asked if she could person altered Daenerys' eventual destiny — an ending that galore fans disliked.

Game of Thrones' last episodes spot her quality abruptly crook from a leader — who has conscionable defeated an undead service and looks acceptable to prevention the Seven Kingdoms from Lannister regularisation — to a city-burning conqueror. In a tragic twist, she is yet stopped by her person Jon Snow. Her lifeless assemblage is past carried distant by her dragon — and that's that.

[Benioff and Weiss] were "fastidious astir america saying the lines precisely arsenic they’ve written them," Clarke continued. "I was fixed the seasons, and I, to the champion of my ability, empathized and understood and tracked each prime she made truthful it felt similar mine. I felt similar that was what my occupation was."

Clarke's erstwhile Game of Thrones co-star Kit Harington antecedently said that mistakes were made successful the show's arguable ending, but helium was "not definite determination was immoderate alternative" arsenic the series' formed and unit were exhausted pursuing astir a decennary of production. "I deliberation if determination was immoderate responsibility with the extremity of Thrones, is that we were each truthful f***ing tired, we couldn't person gone connected longer."

Ultimately, Clarke said that she was present "grateful" for the acquisition of playing Daenerys, which catapulted her to stardom and has since landed her roles successful galore different TV bid and movies.

"I person gone done each circuitous way to get to the spot that I americium now, which is yet being capable to beryllium precise grateful for everything that Game of Thrones did and has fixed me," Clarke concluded. "I nary longer consciousness trapped successful it, oregon trapped successful the effect of being successful it. I consciousness conscionable truly fortunate that it happened to maine — adjacent luckier that I've had clip to recognize what that was, and present I consciousness firmly connected the different side."

In January, Clarke admitted feeling "really pissed" astatine the adept who developed Game of Thrones' fictional languages, aft speechmaking that helium thought her Dothraki pronounciation "sucked." David J. Peterson, who HBO hired arsenic a full-time linguist connected its deed phantasy show, subsequently responded to Clarke's comments, saying that the histrion had misunderstood what helium meant, and that she "never had to beryllium bully astatine it," arsenic his volition had ne'er been that Daenerys Targaryen would talk Dothraki flawlessly.

The aforesaid month, Clarke said she was apt finished moving connected phantasy projects aft spending 9 years arsenic Daenerys, telling the New York Times it was "highly unlikely" viewers would spot her "get connected a dragon, oregon adjacent successful the aforesaid framework arsenic a dragon, ever again."

Image credit: Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images.

Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You tin scope Tom astatine [email protected] oregon find him connected Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social