Emilia Clarke says she gets 'a lot of crap' for doing Daenerys nude scenes, but one sex scene was empowering

Carrie Wittmer

Jul 13, 2017, 00:58 IST

Daenerys Targaryen Daario Game of Thrones

Macall B. Polay/HBO

Daenerys and Daario.

Particularly in its early seasons, "Game of Thrones" was directly associated with boobs and butts and a lot of blood - the first two mostly there for no particular reason, story-wise.

Actress Emilia Clarke, who plays Daenerys Targaryen, has been naked quite a lot. Sometimes it's because her clothes get burnt when she's casually walking through fire, sometimes because she's taking a bath, and sometimes because of a sex scene.

Ahead of the season seven premiere of "Game of Thrones" on Sunday, Emilia Clarke did an interview and cover shoot for the August edition of Elle, and talked about the importance of a particularly sexy sex scene with Daario back in season four. In the scene, Daenerys takes control and demands that Daario take off his clothes. It's significant because she holds all the power, unlike her first sex scene of the show, when she is raped by Khal Drogo on her wedding night.

"I actually went up to ['Game of Thrones' co-creators David Benioff and Dan Weiss] and thanked them," Clarke said. "I was like, 'That's a scene I've been waiting for!' Because I get a lot of crap for having done nudes scenes and sex scenes. That, in itself, is so anti-feminist. Women hating on other women is just the problem. That's upsetting, so it's kind of wonderful to have a scene where I was like, 'There you go!'"

There probably won't be much time for boobs and butts on the show moving forward, but plenty for blood. Following Tyrion's advice, Daenerys left Daario in Meereen at the end of season 6 because he would've been a liability in Westeros.