--- title: Game of Thrones: Emilia Clarke on Strong Female Characters description: As her Game of Thrones character comes into her powers, actress Emilia Clarke is seeking out inspiration from all sorts of world leaders canonical: https://time.com/4354077/game-of-thrones-emilia-clarke-female-characters/ author: Eliana Dockterman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-06-03T16:58:13.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T17:58:52.352Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: Emilia Clarke From 'Game of Thrones' on How to Create More Strong Female Roles og:description: The actress seeks out inspiration from some unexpected world leaders og:url: https://time.com/4354077/game-of-thrones-emilia-clarke-female-characters/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt534ac7d5a1dc44cc/69888f4fe20a87c6eaa906f5/dragon.jpeg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Game of Thrones og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Emilia Clarke From 'Game of Thrones' on How to Create More Strong Female Roles twitter:description: The actress seeks out inspiration from some unexpected world leaders twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt534ac7d5a1dc44cc/69888f4fe20a87c6eaa906f5/dragon.jpeg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # _Game of Thrones'_ Emilia Clarke on How to Create More Strong Female Characters > Sponsored content. 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Terms and conditions apply. * Savings buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Savings Account. * No ATM fees from Ally Bank at Allpoint and Moneypass ATMs plus we reimburse for fees charged by other ATM owners nationwide up to $10 per statement cycle. * Early direct deposit offers eligible direct deposits up to two days sooner. * Spending buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Spending Account.  by [Eliana Dockterman](https://time.com/author/eliana-dockterman/)  ## Eliana Dockterman Correspondent Jun 3, 2016 4:58 PM UTC  Emilia Clarke in a scene from Season 5 of Game of Thrones Emilia Clarke in a scene from Season 5 of Game of ThronesHBO  by [Eliana Dockterman](https://time.com/author/eliana-dockterman/)  ## Eliana Dockterman Correspondent Jun 3, 2016 4:58 PM UTC It looks like [Daenerys](http://time.com/4324849/game-of-thrones-daenerys-dothraki-theory/) Targaryen might _finally_ be ready to vie for the iron throne. As the _Game of Thrones_ character comes into her powers, actress [Emilia Clarke](http://time.com/4346928/game-of-thrones-emilia-clarke-daenerys-euron-proposal/) is seeking out inspiration from all sorts of world leaders–from Queen Elizabeth I to [Donald Trump](http://time.com/time-person-of-the-year-2015-runner-up-donald-trump/). “I’m watching things and reading things and researching and trying to grasp more about her. I watch a lot of things to do with strong female leaders,” she told TIME in a recent interview. “In season one, I got obsessed with _Elizabeth_, with Cate Blanchett in _Elizabeth_, and then started to watch Tilda Swinton in everything that she’s ever done.” “And then just being incredibly observant of where power comes from and how people handle it when they have it. Like Trump’s a hoot for that. Where did that confidence come from? My goodness,” she added. “And then if you look at speeches by leaders in other languages that you don’t speak—because that’s what I do on the show, speak a language I don’t speak—and studying just the delivery of it.” She always seeks out female leaders in the real world to model Daenerys after, she said, but there are far too few to model the character after, especially in Hollywood where strong female characters are few and far between. “I have stuff I want to act in and produce, and whenever I’m reading, I’m reading for the strong girl, I’m reading for that role,” she said. “And I’m like, ‘just take the boy, take away the penis and add some tits. There you go. 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