During the time Game of Thrones was airing, Emilia Clarke and other actors from the show also took up other roles in Hollywood.

Having played the character for eight long years, it’s natural for fans to view actress Emilia Clarke as Daenerys Targaryen from Game of Thrones. Even though she looks nothing like the silver-haired dragon-riding princess, Clarke has become synonymous with the powerful character who is said to be the last Targaryen.

The show catapulted her to newer levels of fame and established her name in the global arena. Game of Thrones garnered unprecedented viewership and quickly became one of the best shows by HBO. However, if Clarke had to be seen as one of her fictional characters, she has someone else in mind instead of Daenerys.

Emilia Clarke’s true character is nothing like Daenerys Targaryen

Emilia Clarke as Daenerys Targaryen in Game of Thrones | Credit: HBO

During the time Game of Thrones was airing, Emilia Clarke and other actors from the show also took up other roles in Hollywood. In 2016, Clarke did a movie called Me Before You, based on the best-selling novel by Jojo Moyes. She plays the lead character Lou opposite the dashing Sam Claflin who plays the male lead in the movie.

Lou is a clumsy, happy-go-lucky girl who is tasked with infusing joy into the world of gloomy William Traynor who lost his ability to walk in a bike accident. The Traynors are rich people with all the money in the world. Yet, the couple feels disheartened over the lack of happiness in their child’s world. Here comes Lou, who cheers Will up with her colorful outfits and a spirited attitude that changes the way Will experiences life.

Sam Claflin and Emilia Clarke in Me Before You | Credits: Warner Bros

In an interview with Express UK, Clarke says,

Everything I’m known for on-screen is so different from who I am, but I am basically a clumsy idiot. She’s clumsy and talks a lot and doesn’t think before any of those sentences come out; wears her heart on her sleeve; and can’t hide a single thing emotionally that was going through her mind, so she just says it.

I got sent it and thought, there’s not a world where I’m not doing this part. There’s not a world where I’m not fighting tooth-and-nail to play Lou. So, it wasn’t so much that I was looking for it, but it found me. And it was just so joyful. It’s funny. I just got to do all the things that I always wanted to do.

Anyone who knows Clarke would say that the actress was not acting in Me Before You. She was purely herself in every scene and had a blast filming the movie. Even though it’s got a sad ending, Lou feels like a transformed person by the end of the movie as Will encourages her to live for herself and not for other people. The movie went on to do big at the box office with over $208 million in collection.

Emilia Clarke loves watching rom-coms

Sam Claflin and Emilia Clarke in Me Before You | Credits: Warner Bros

Despite doing various dark and gritty roles on screen, Clarke loves to unwind on weekends with her favorite movies which are mostly romantic comedies that make her laugh and cry at the same time. This is also another reason why she loved doing Me Before You as the movie finally gave her a chance to play the lead in a proper love story. She shared,

When Harry Met Sally is the ultimate for me, the absolute ultimate – I know it all off by heart! Anything – because of the age that I am – with Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks in it: Sleepless In Seattle, You’ve Got Mail…I love all of those. Then Four Weddings and a Funeral! Yes, big time. Notting Hill. They’re all shameless – proper stay-at-home-on-a-Sunday with a box of Kleenex.

Since then, she has also starred in Last Christmas which is another holiday-themed romantic movie. Me Before You made people cry more often than many cared to admit. The sad ending leaves people in tears as everyone prays for Lou and Will to find each other in another life.