The COVID pandemic has taken a lot of lives. Many of us have lost our near and dear ones. It is an inexplicable pain that persists in one’s heart throughout their life. Game of Thrones community suffered a lot of losses too. Beloved actress Diana Rigg lost her fight to cancer last year. Coping with such a loss is not an easy task. Game of Thrones’ “Khaleesi” Emilia Clarke also lost her father to the disease back in 2016. And there’s not a single day that goes by when she doesn’t miss him.
In a recent interview with The Guardian, Clarke talked about her theatre experience, and she teared up when she talked about her deceased father and how much she missed him on her theatre debut. She recalled, “It’s in the front of my mind every day. Any aspect of my work that I can relate back to my dad, I will.”
“I’m gonna try not to get teary even thinking about it. It’s quite ridiculous. It’s been nearly six years. And it’s still just as – it gets more painful. People don’t tell you this about grief, but it just seems to get – not worse, but it becomes so much more present.”
Her father, Peter Clarke, was a sound designer from Wolverhampton who worked in every theatre in the West End. When Clarke was three years old her father took her to see a musical he was working on, Show Boat; she became enamored with that world and decided that she would become an actor. A “classic sound designer”, her father warned her: “Are you ready to be unemployed for the rest of your life? Because that’s what it’s gonna be.” She did not listen to his advice, but his support for her never wavered. “He just really loved me. My dad gave me my mystical, magical love of the theatre. To me, the best place in the world is backstage at a theatre – backstage anywhere is where I feel most at home.”
“Yeah. He was a very quiet man. A very sensitive man. But I’d like to think that he is. I think he’s gonna be with me every night.” She says tearfully. “Sorry.”
We do know wherever Emilia’s dad is right now, he would definitely be very proud of her. Let’s take a moment to appreciate all the amazing dads in the comments below!
