The morning after the 2019 Emmy Awards, Emilia Clarke woke up with a goal: to redefine what she saw as success.
By any measure Clarke was already wildly successful. As well as starring in big-budget “Terminator” and “Star Wars” spinoffs, she was the de facto queen of premium drama, thanks to her portrayal of warrior princess Daenerys Targaryen in HBO’s blockbuster fantasy series “Game of Thrones.” With her gutsy disposition and ice-blond braids, the Mother of Dragons became a byword for female empowerment, not to mention a costume party staple (both Madonna and Khloe Kardashian have donned the Daenerys getup).
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But the movies — 2015’s “Terminator Genisys” and 2018’s “Solo: A Star Wars Movie” —underperformed. Then, in May 2019, “Game of Thrones” came to an abrupt and almost universally hated end: Mad with power, Daenerys is fatally betrayed by her lover-slash-nephew Jon Snow (Kit Harington) just as the long-coveted Iron Throne is finally within her grasp. Fans who’d been rooting for “Dany” for eight long years were furious. Even Clarke admits she was “absolutely livid” about the manner of her demise.
Still, four months later, she was at the Emmys, her first time in the running for lead actress in a drama, having previously scored three nominations in the supporting category. While “Game of Thrones” ended on a downer (although it still holds the record for most-watched season of any series in HBO’s history), winning would be a way to close that chapter on a victorious note. But on the night, Jodie Comer took home the award for “Killing Eve.” Clarke was crushed.
