‘Game of Thrones’ Star Emilia Clarke Opens Up About Feeling Unprotected During Intimate Scenes
Few shows in television history stirred as much cultural conversation as ‘Game of Thrones‘, and not always for reasons tied to its intricate storytelling or shocking plot turns. The HBO fantasy epic became as notorious for its explicit nudity and sexual content as it was celebrated for its scale and drama. For Emilia Clarke, the actress who anchored the show’s entire run as Daenerys Targaryen, those scenes carried a weight that went far beyond what audiences ever saw on screen.
Clarke was cast in ‘Game of Thrones’ in 2010 with only a handful of stage and television roles behind her. Fresh from drama school and determined not to let down her new HBO bosses, she approached the demands of the role, including its extensive nudity requirements, as simply part of the job. What followed was a first season that tested her in ways she was completely unprepared for.
Speaking candidly about those early days on set, Clarke described the disorienting reality of suddenly finding herself completely naked in front of a large crew with almost no prior experience. She said she had no idea what was expected of her, what the production wanted, or even what she wanted for herself, and admitted that regardless of the nudity, she spent that entire first season feeling she was not worthy of asking for anything at all. It was a mindset born from inexperience and pressure, and it left her deeply vulnerable.
The person who stepped in to fill that gap was not a producer, not a director, and not an intimacy coordinator, since such roles barely existed in mainstream television at the time. It was her co-star Jason Momoa. Clarke recalled that he took care of her in an environment where she did not even know she needed to be taken care of, calling him kind, considerate, and genuinely caring toward her as a person. Between takes, he would repeatedly call out to the crew asking them to bring her a robe because she was shivering.
Momoa has since been widely praised by fans and commentators for effectively doubling as an on-set intimacy coordinator before the role formally existed. Clarke later confirmed that the sheer volume of nudity demanded of her during early seasons was so distressing that a nudity clause was eventually written into her contract for subsequent seasons.
As her profile and confidence grew with the show’s success, Clarke became far more assertive about protecting herself. She described having direct confrontations on set where she refused to remove a sheet, and was told by crew members that she would be disappointing her ‘Game of Thrones’ fans if she held back. Her response, in her own words, was a firm refusal.
Clarke has also been clear about what she considers an acceptable reason to include nudity at all. She has stated that explicit scenes make sense when they genuinely serve the story or add insight into the characters, but that anything gratuitous is something she will push back on, and that she considers herself always in control of those decisions. Her story contributed to a broader industry reckoning, with Directors UK publishing its first formal guidelines for scenes involving nudity and simulated sex in the wake of her public disclosures.
Clarke’s account of those early years on ‘Game of Thrones’ is a striking reminder of how much the industry has shifted, and how much it still needed to. The question worth asking now is whether you think shows like ‘Game of Thrones’ could ever be made the same way today, and whether they should be.
