Emila Clarke Fought for Daenerys With a Human Face
The release of Fire Cannot Kill a Dragon brought with it a handful of interesting facts about Game of Thrones. The book reveals Emilia Clarke's battle, who didn't want to present Daenerys Targaryen as cold and emotionless as the producers insisted.
The eighth season of Game of the Throne has aroused considerable excitement among the audience. Fans were disappointed with the finale of Daenerys' story, which at first was not to the liking of Emilia Clarke, who played the character. The actress mentioned it a year ago in an interview for Entertainment Weekly, as well as the producers' remarks that did not quite sit well with her. Clarke also mentioned them in the book Fire Cannot Kill a Dragon, describing the bbehind-the-scenes of the show. As it turns out, the actress behind Daenerys had to fight back against the producers of Game of Thrones, so that the last of the Targaryens was not too cold and emotionless. This is the quote from the book provided by Winter is Coming:
"There was a number of times I was like, “Why are you giving me that note?” While I am quite consistently a “How can I help?” kind of person, there were a few moments where I was like, “Don’t tell me what to do with my girl. I know what to do!” It’s like Daenerys’s calling card became cold expressionlessness. I always wanted to infuse that with some humanity because no one’s consistently like that. I would sometimes fight back a little: “I get that she has to be steely and unforgiving and a powerful force. But in this moment she’s also a goddam human being. So I’m going to give you that and I really pray that you take that in the edit."
In an interview for Entertainment Weekly in May 2019, the actress mentioned that after reading the last screenplay of Game of Thrones she returned to the producers' comments. Apparently, the series' showrunners had been preparing Daenerys for the final scenes with her from the beginning, but Clarke's attitude meant that they had to present her transformation in recent episodes instead. Another thing is that, as Dan Selcke from Winter is Coming points out, the cool and collected descendant of the Targaryens also doesn't quite fit the controversial scene in King's Landing.
It was not only Emilia Clarke who opposed some of the screenwriters' ideas. In Fire Cannot Kill a Dragon we learn about plans to add the thread of Sir Davos Seaworth Missandea's infatuation with Nath (via Insider). However, Liam Cunningham, who played the ex-smuggler, opposed it. The 56-year-old actor argued that an affair with a character played by a 28-year old actress (Nathalie Emmanuel) would cast a shadow over Davos' relationship with two other young heroines. Cunningham does not explain whether these were serious considerations of the producers or whether they were mentioned only as a joke, although his firm reaction indicates the former eventuality.
