- Emilia Clarke has revealed that she turned down the lead role in Fifty Shades of Grey, following her naked scenes in Game of Thrones.
- The actress, who played Daenerys Targaryen for eight seasons, explained that she was sick of being asked about nudity on screen.
- Clarke appeared naked several times during the 2011 first season of Game of Thrones, but described questions about the decision as “annoying as hell”.
You might assume that playing a dragon-riding queen who descends into madness and rocks a selection of perfect braided hairstyles would be nothing but a good time, but Emilia Clarke has revealed one of the most frustrating parts of her time as Daenerys Targaryen on Game of Thrones.
The actress has admitted to being “sick and tired” of the constant questions about her decision to film nude scenes in the early seasons of Game of Thrones. In fact, the tirade of sexist questions proved so grating to Emilia, that she turned down the lead role in Fifty Shades of Grey as a result.
During an interview forThe Hollywood Reporter's Drama Actress Roundtable, the 32-year-old star opened up about how her naked moments as Daenerys meant that she decided not to pursue the role of Anastasia Steele, opposite Jamie Dornan’s Christian Grey. In the end, the part went to Dakota Johnson.
Explaining her feminist reasoning, Emilia said: “Well, Sam [Taylor-Johnson, the director] is a magician. I love her, and I thought her vision was beautiful. But the last time that I was naked on camera on [Game of Thrones] was a long time ago, and yet it is the only question that I ever get asked because I am a woman.
"And it's annoying as hell and I'm sick and tired of it because I did it for the character—I didn't do it so some guy could check out my tits, for God's sake."
Emilia continued: "So, that coming up, I was like, 'I can't.' I did a minimal amount and I'm pigeonholed for life, so me saying yes to that, where the entire thing is about sensuality and sex and being naked and all of that stuff, I was just like, 'No way am I going to voluntarily walk into that situation and then never be able to look someone in the eye and be like, 'No, you can't keep asking me this question’.”
Her points are so valid. The entire show had a "the more naked, the better" policy from start to finish, and numerous characters appeared naked in some boundary-pushing sex scenes—but I don't remember reading many quotes from male actors about it.
Sigh, 'Dracarys' to your basic interview questions for female actors.
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