Emilia Clarke is shutting down one of the biggest rumors about her money from her years on the show. «Game of Thrones» .
The actress, who played Daenerys Targaryen in all eight seasons of the HBO fantasy drama, said in a new interview with Variety that reports of the main cast receiving $300,000 per episode don't match her own experience.
Clarke didn't reveal her actual salary, only saying the show changed her life financially, including giving her enough money to pay off her parents' mortgage.
Clark said the reported number was inflated.
Asked about the long-discussed $300,000 per episode figure, Clarke was blunt.
«"We didn't make that much," she told Variety. "Can you imagine? I'd be driving a couple of Porsches!"«
PEOPLE reported that Clarke continued to describe the job as financially life-changing. This correction wasn't a complaint about the show; it was a counter-narrative to a cliché that has dogged the cast for years.
She said she had no influence on the events behind the scenes.
Clarke also touched on the idea that being involved in such a world-renowned project gave her control over the development of Daenerys' character. She said she had no creative input. «Game of Thrones» and didn't want this while playing the role.
PEOPLE reported that Clarke praised showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, saying they were the ones guiding the story. Her own task, she said, was to make Daenerys's choices believable on screen.
This distinction is useful because Clarke's performance became one of the show's defining features, but she did not position herself as the one who controlled the character's future development.
The interview also revisited her health issues.
The Variety interview also revisited the two brain hemorrhages Clarke suffered during filming. «Game of Thrones» . Clarke previously spoke about her first hemorrhage, which occurred after filming the first season, and about the subsequent medical crisis that occurred while the show was still a part of her life.
In a new interview, Clarke described feeling survivor's guilt after the hemorrhages and said she once felt like she "cheated death.".
This story helps us understand the enormous pressure Clarke was under as she played one of television's most significant roles. She had to not only manage a rapidly expanding international career but also recover from life-threatening medical complications that were not publicly disclosed at the time.
Clarke's view of Game of Thrones has changed.
Clarke also opened up about how her relationship with «Game of Thrones» after the series ended in 2019.
Entertainment Weekly reported that Clarke was once deeply upset about not winning an Emmy for the series, recalling how she felt "irrelevant" after the show ended.
Years later, Clarke seems less attached to awards or the old salary myths. The show provided her with financial stability, global fame, and one of the most recognizable roles on television, but her recent comments make it clear that the public's version of history hasn't always matched the one she experienced.