Marvel Studios
Due to her role as Daenerys Targaryen on HBO’s Game of Thrones from 2011 to 2019, Emilia Clarke was one of the biggest actresses in the world for about a decade. It’s been relatively rough sledding since for the 39-year-old, particularly as it relates to her further forays into franchise IP.
During a recent sit-down interview with Variety for their “Power of Women U.K.” issue, Emilia Clarke opened up about the last decade of her career, which has experienced multiple highs and lows.
After becoming one of the biggest and most beloved TV shows of all time, Game of Thrones crashed and burned in its final season to such an extent that the primary feeling it conjures when fans reminisce on it is frustration instead of joy (although some of that bad taste has been slightly washed away by the recent success of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms). Much of that angst over the final season is tied to the resolution of Daenerys’ storyline, who, as Variety puts it:
“Mad with power, Daenerys is fatally betrayed by her lover-slash-nephew Jon Snow (Kit Harington) just as the long-coveted Iron Throne is finally within her grasp. Fans who’d been rooting for ‘Dany’ for eight long years were furious.”
In the interview, while she called series creators and showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss “geniuses”, she admitted to be “absolutely livid” about the manner of her iconic character’s fate.
Emilia Clarke apologized to fans for starring in ill-received franchise projects such as Terminator Genysis, Solo: A Star Wars Story, and Secret Invasion
In addition to sharing her true feelings about Dany’s destiny, Clarke also literally apologized for the further ill-received projects she starred in over the 10-plus years, specifically: 2015’s Terminator Genisys, 2018’s Solo: A Star Wars Story (which now looks like Casablanca compared to Rise of Skywalker and The Mandalorian & Grogu) and Marvel Studio’s 2023 Disney+ series Secret Invasion.
“I don’t think no one liked that show, guys. I’m sorry!” Clarke said of Secret Invasion during an interview with Variety.
“Star Wars? They didn’t like it. Terminator? That should never have happened,” Clarke added. “These were jobs I said yes to… I entered into already existing franchises, so when they don’t work out, it’s not personal.”
It’s not as though Clarke has been entirely without hits since Game of Thrones: her 2019 Paul Feig directed and Emma Thompson written rom-com Last Christmas grossed over $123 million at the box office, and her recent Peacock series Ponies was well-received by both critics and audiences alike and looks set to be renewed for a second season.
Her upcoming projects include a starring role in the film Next Life and the series Prime Video series Criminal, which will also feature Charlie Hunnam, Richard Jenkins, Adria Arjona and Luke Evans.