Often times, the actors behind iconic characters in television and film have a fear of being typecast — but not Game of Thrones star Emilia Clarke. The 33-year-old actress recently opened up about her life after playing Daenerys Targaryen — aka the mother of dragons — on the HBO series for almost a decade. And it seems like Clarke is more than gracious for every opportunity following her groundbreaking role on Game of Thrones. However, that doesn’t mean the Last Christmas lead isn’t ready to step into something with a little more spark down the line.
Emilia Clarke says being ‘stereotyped’ as Daenerys in ‘Game of Thrones’ could be worse
When speaking with NPR on Nov. 3, Clarke opened up about her life post-Game of Thrones as well as her leading role as Kate on Last Christmas, a holiday romantic comedy, opposite Henry Golding. And Clarke even compared her new character with her GoT alter ego.
“[Kate’s] not the mother of dragons,” she said. “She’s got mother-of-dragon tendencies.”
Of course, Clarke’s statement reflects the many fans who are wondering what the actress will work on after portraying a beloved Game of Thrones character for 10 years. Will she pick up similar roles or be able to escape the Daenerys’ image in the next chapter of her acting career? Nevertheless, it seems Clarke isn’t too worried about being typecast.
“I’ve had the good fortune of being in this incredible show with this incredible character. And my goodness, if I were to get stereotyped as the mother of dragons, I could ask for worse,” Clarke said. “It’s really quite wonderful.”
Why Emilia Clarke yearns for more after ‘Game of Thrones’
That said, Clarke still wants to do so much more with her career moving forward. And after working on GoT, the actress wishes to delve deeper into the entertainment landscape through writing and producing. She told NPR:
What it’s left me with — after 10 years of seeing that, and being a part of that, and of doing quite big movies in my hiatuses and all of those things — is a yearning for a different sort of creative ownership. So I started my production company about three years ago — very, very quietly because I didn’t want it to go wrong and have it be public knowledge — and now I’ve got six or seven things on my slate that I’m writing and producing.
Clarke then shared her experience on Game of Thrones has taught her to take her time when choosing roles.
“The landscape has changed for young actresses and actors for the sort of roles that are out there. I struggle to find them, because the thing that I’ve learned from being on 10 years in the show is that the biggest luxury in life is time and space,” she explained. “So I wanted to take those two things, which I have very luckily been able to have now, and really consider what my next option is. Because I care about what I’m doing with my time.”
What Emilia Clarke wants to work on right now
Clarke’s sentiments on NPR comes days after speaking with IndieWire, where the actress unveiled her upcoming career plans. And it looks like she’s going to begin devoting her time to one major project moving forward.
“For 10 years, I was either on Game of Thrones or I was doing a different movie, and if I wasn’t doing a different movie, I was promoting a different movie or I was promoting Game of Thrones,” Clarke told the publication. “Now I just want to be able to do a project and to put all of my energy just into that, as opposed to trying to make myself into seven different people to do seven different kind of things at once.”
Of course, this leaves the actor’s career path pretty open-ended. But even so, Clarke has made it abundantly clear that a major franchise — like Game of Thrones or Star Wars — is not in her future.
When IndieWire asked if she saw a franchise film or series anytime in her immediate future, Clarke noted, “Not anytime soon.”
However, she did reveal what she wants to do next. “I’m really actively looking for indies,” Clarke said. “Those are the things I’m making, as well. And those are the movies I watch.”
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