Emilia Clarke had a “full mental breakdown” after Game of Thrones ended.
The 39-year-old actress shot to fame playing Daenerys Targaryen in the fantasy drama series from 2011 to 2019 and she admitted she was grateful for the Covid-19 pandemic because it gave her the time to reflect on a decade which had also seen her suffer two brain haemorrhages and her dad pass away in 2016.
She told the New York Times newspaper: “It was the first time in my professional life that I stopped.
“I had a full mental breakdown. It was almost as if the timing of the pandemic was bang on…
“It forced me to answer some questions I probably could have put off answering for another 10 years…
“[During the show] there was never any time to stop and consider the meaning of it. I never had the foresight to think, ‘You’re going want to take a minute.’ “
The Last Christmas actress admitted she is unlikely to ever star in another fantasy project.
She said: “You’re highly unlikely to see me get on a dragon, or even in the same frame as a dragon, ever again.”
And Emilia was hestitant to take on her latest role, as Bea in spy series Ponies, because she was concerned about the “commitment”.
She said: “I was definitely, like, ‘A lead in a TV show? I know what that commitment feels like.’ “
But the actress knew things would be different because she was given the choice of which of the two main characters she wanted to play.
She noted: “I felt like they were giving me a voice, which doesn’t always happen.”
Emilia admitted she felt she had very little control in the early days of her career.
She said: “[After Game of Thrones, it took a long time] to realise that I could try and get some autonomy over my choices, my work. So much of my career didn’t reflect my taste, I just sort of shot out of a cannon.
“[When trying to make it,] no is not in your vocabulary. You just say yes.”
The Terminator: Genisys star finds her fame can be “frustrating” because of how it affects her interactions with other people.
She said: “I never get to meet someone for the first time, because they’re not being themselves. There’s just always this other thing in the way of interactions.
“I live for people. It can be really frustrating, because all my job is communicating. And the only time I get to do that is when I’m being someone else.”
SINGAPORE HELPLINES
- Samaritans of Singapore: 1767 (24 hours) / 9151-1767 (WhatsApp)
- Singapore Association for Mental Health: 1800-283-7019
- Care Corner Counselling Centre (Mandarin): 1800-353-5800
- Institute of Mental Health’s national mindline: 1771 (24 hours) / 6669-1771 (WhatsApp)
- Silver Ribbon: 6386-1928
- We Care Community Services: 3165-8017
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