Emilia Clarke studied speeches given by dictators, including Nazi Germany’s Adolf Hitler, to help her prepare for that epic address she gave as Daenerys Targaryen in the final episode of “Game of Thrones.”
The British actress said she “watched a lot of videos” of dictators and powerful leaders speaking in different languages ahead of giving the speech in Dothraki and Valyrian to her character’s army from the steps of the Red Keep.
Clarke wanted “to see if I could understand what they were saying without knowing the language,” she revealed in an interview with Variety published Tuesday.
“And you can!” she continued. “You absolutely can understand what Hitler’s fucking saying, these single-focus orators speaking a foreign language.”
It calmed Clarke’s nerves about the speech ― which she described as “one of the most solidifying, integral moments” for her character ― because “I thought, ‘If I can believe every single word I’m saying, the audience won’t need to be looking at the subtitles too much,’” she added.
And despite enduring a sleepless and tearful night ahead of filming the scene (which actually took place in front of a green screen), Clarke said she nailed it on the first attempt.
