The magic of the HBO fantasy series, Game of Thrones is utterly incomplete without the iconic Daenerys Targaryen, notably played by Emilia Clarke. The British actress rose to great fame after the show aired worldwide. Among the top-grossing series, Game of Thrones is probably the greatest highlight of her career. One would think, it’s only upwards for Clarke from here on. Surprisingly, she faced some significant failures despite GOT’s success in the film industry.
Clarke once revealed her love for theatre in an interview. Therefore, she made her Broadway debut in 2013. Portraying Holly Golightly in the stage adaptation of Breakfast at Tiffany’s, things did not go as expected for the Hollywood star.
Emilia Clarke flopped at Broadway
It is quite difficult to witness a leading actor fail in other features. While she rocked being the mother of dragons, Clarke’s performance at Broadway wasn’t impressive. As a matter of fact, the 37-year-old actress herself acknowledged it in an interview. Clarke told BBC,
“[It was a] catastrophic failure. It was just not ready. Was I ready? No, I was definitely not ready. I was a baby. I was so young and so inexperienced.”
The four-time Emmy award winner was widely criticized for her below-par portrayal of Golightly. A critic from the New York Times described her act as,
“an under-age debutante trying very, very hard to pass for a sophisticated grown-up”
However, Emilia Clarke held on to her love for theatre and deemed it as her safe place. Clarke admitted to feeling the happiest and safest when doing theatre. Although, critics might not agree.
Emilia Clarke felt her life was at risk on the sets of Game of Thrones
Apart from all things glam, Emilia Clarke also suffered some dark times while shooting for GOT. After the show’s finale, the actress revealed that she suffered a brain hemorrhage in London but had to return to sets within weeks.
On the other hand, donning the beautiful Targaryen hair was rather a punishment for Clarke. The actress was later diagnosed with a brain aneurysm leading her to an urgent brain surgery. Hence, the Me Before You star disclosed her dilemma in an interview with Entertainment Weekly,
“It was crazy intense. We are in the desert in a quarry in like ninety-degree heat, and I had the consistent fear that I was going to have another brain hemorrhage. I spent a lot of time just being like: “Am I gonna die? Is that gonna happen on set? Because that would be really inconvenient.”
She had to hide her luscious dark hair under the tight blonde wig, which made her extremely uncomfortable in the desert. Thus, Clarke had to reschedule and even cancel interviews due to her suffering a heatstroke.
While it all seems interesting and fun on screen, the behind-the-scene scenarios are quite the opposite. Regardless, Clarke aced being a Targaryen and now looks forward to her theatrical feats in the future.
