--- description: "I’ve made the naive choice to take on roles that are beloved in books, that’s literally everything I’ve done," says the Me Before You actor title: Emilia Clarke Has Something to Say To Her 'Game of Thrones' Critics image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc6693751d44df40b/698896460b72e31b7e6e9b05/a9ee7d01bb3fb2d4d20f535610e7e26b4c3c6667c40c351f8b81475c824802ff-1.jpeg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Emilia Clarke on _Game of Thrones_ Critics: 'It's Like I'm Voluntarily Walking Into the Fire'  by [Eliana Dockterman](/author/eliana-dockterman/)  ## Eliana Dockterman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Correspondent Jun 3, 2016 4:50 PM CUT  Emilia Clarke as Daenerys Targaryen in Game of Thrones Emilia Clarke as Daenerys Targaryen in Game of ThronesHBO  by [Eliana Dockterman](/author/eliana-dockterman/)  ## Eliana Dockterman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Correspondent Jun 3, 2016 4:50 PM CUT [Daenerys](http://time.com/4324849/game-of-thrones-daenerys-dothraki-theory/ "undefined") might be cool under pressure on _Game of Thrones_, [casually setting her enemies afire](http://time.com/4336953/game-of-thrones-daenerys-targaryen-fire-immunity/ "undefined"), but [the actress who plays her](http://time.com/4353714/game-of-thrones-emilia-clarke-pranks-me-before-you/ "undefined") says that with each new season of _Thrones_, she feels the pressure building. It’s an experience Emilia Clarke has become familiar with: She’s now starred in several adaptations of beloved books and franchises, including a Broadway version of _Breakfast at Tiffany’s,_ the _Terminator_ sequel _Terminator Genisys_, and now the romance [_Me Before You_](http://time.com/4354772/me-before-you-review/ "undefined") based on the bestselling Jojo Moyes romance. “I’ve made the naive choices to take on roles that are beloved in books, that’s literally everything I’ve done. For better or worse, I’ve worked really hard on all of them and tried very hard to make sure all the fans were happy and that I was on the right track,” Clarke said in a [recent interview](http://time.com/4354743/emilia-clarke/ "undefined") with TIME. “For the first time ever in \[_Me Before You_\], I read it and said I know her. I’ve got this.” That’s not true of Daenerys Targaryen, whom Clarke said is her complete opposite in terms of temperament. While Clarke is a bubbly jokester, Daenerys rarely smiles. And although Clarke has earned two Emmy nominations for her performance, every year fans of George R.R. Martin’s books, _A Song of Ice and Fire,_ loudly let her know what she isn’t getting right about Dany. Meanwhile, critics have [skewered the show’s treatment of women](http://time.com/3917236/game-of-thrones-woman-problem-feminism/ "undefined") in general. “It’s like I’m voluntarily walking into the fire every time,” she said. “I’m like, ‘hello I’m sorry I’m currently having a good time, I would quite like to be in pain.’ With _Game of Thrones_ there’s always that pressure. And the bigger it gets, the bigger the pressure. I’m like, don’t let this be the season where she f—s it up because I really could.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4356602/emilia-clarke-game-of-thrones-critics/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4356602/emilia-clarke-game-of-thrones-critics/"},"headline":"Emilia Clarke on Game of Thrones Critics: 'It's Like I'm Voluntarily Walking Into the Fire'","datePublished":"2016-06-03T16:50:29.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T22:22:39.261Z","description":"\"I’ve made the naive choices to take on roles that are beloved in books\"","url":"https://time.com/4356602/emilia-clarke-game-of-thrones-critics/","keywords":["Television"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc6693751d44df40b/698896460b72e31b7e6e9b05/a9ee7d01bb3fb2d4d20f535610e7e26b4c3c6667c40c351f8b81475c824802ff-1.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Eliana Dockterman","jobTitle":"Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/eliana-dockterman/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc6693751d44df40b/698896460b72e31b7e6e9b05/a9ee7d01bb3fb2d4d20f535610e7e26b4c3c6667c40c351f8b81475c824802ff-1.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"a9ee7d01bb3fb2d4d20f535610e7e26b4c3c6667c40c351f8b81475c824802ff (1)","caption":"Emilia Clarke as Daenerys Targaryen in Game of Thrones","creditText":"HBO","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4356602/emilia-clarke-game-of-thrones-critics/","name":"Emilia Clarke on Game of Thrones Critics: 'It's Like I'm Voluntarily Walking Into the Fire'"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"'Thrones' Catching Up With Book Plot Means Spoilers For All","description":"The day","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/j83INjRk/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-06-16T18:30:15.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/j83INjRk.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4356602/emilia-clarke-game-of-thrones-critics/","duration":"PT2M2S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4356602/emilia-clarke-game-of-thrones-critics/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```