While the role of Daenerys Targaryen made the actress internationally famous, it also took away the best period of her life when she was but a young adult.
Rising to fame at a young age has its positives and negatives, and many actors who had to go through such an experience agree that missing out on some things just can’t be compensated by money and popularity. Young actors dream about joining a winner project but when it happens, it turns out that there are serious cons there, too.
From kid actors like the younger Harry Potter cast members to young adult actors like the new generation in Game of Thrones, everyone has something to miss. The former had to literally grow up on the set and had their childhood replaced, the latter missed out on the joys of being out and about with their college buddies.
Emilia Clarke was around 22 years old when she joined the cast of Game of Thrones, and since then, the show had been the center of her life. Emilia spent the vast majority of her 20s being Daenerys Targaryen — and while she ended up as a world-famous star with a fortune, she feels sad for spending those years on the set.
“There were times when I was really sad on that show, just simply because I was a young woman in her 20s. All of that happening while Game of Thrones was happening, it sometimes could be very confusing,” shared the actress referring to her father’s death, two aneurysms she had on the set, and the sudden fame shower.
Even though Emilia had to go through the most traumatic events of her life with a white wig on her head, the bursts of sadness she mentioned didn’t take away from her understanding of her own luck. The actress understands how much Game of Thrones did for her career and is grateful for it.
“It’s not a shabby role to be associated with! Daenerys, I hope, is associated with a certain caliber of work, so lucky me that that’s the case. As long as people don’t ask me about nudity,” joked Clarke.
