Emilia Clarke Says Jason Momoa Was "Kind" and "Considerate" During GoT N-de Scenes
“He took care of me in an environment where I didn’t know I needed to be taken care of."
Imagine you're a 23-year-old actress reporting to set for your first-ever major role. Your character's debut scene? Stripping down n-ked, getting into a bathtub, and preparing to marry a gruff, gigantic stranger. That was the situation Emilia Clarke found herself in after being cast as Game of Thrones' Danaerys Targaryen back in 2010. Then a newcomer (she only had a few minor TV roles and a theater school degree), Clarke could have had an uncomfortable experience signing up for love scenes with full-frontal n-dity, but that wasn't the case.
In an interview with Dax Shepard on his podcast Armchair Expert, Clarke credited former GoT co-star Jason Momoa for helping her emerge from the first season unscathed. Other actresses have of course spoken about their negative, and at times traumatizing, experiences filming love scenes in film and TV. And as of 2018, HBO now hires intim-cy coordinators for sets, ensuring safe experiences for all involved.
“He took care of me in an environment where I didn’t know I needed to be taken care of,” Clarke said. “Jason was an experienced actor who had done a bunch of stuff before coming onto Game of Thrones. He said, ‘This is how it’s meant to be and how it’s not meant to be. I’m going to make sure that’s not the case.’ So he was always like, 'Can we get her a robe? She's shivering!"
She also added that Momoa cried more than she did during those scenes.
Now that she is older and more experienced, Clarke appreciates Momoa's active role more. “It’s only now I realize how fortunate I was. That could've gone many, many different ways. He was so kind and considerate, and cared about me as a human being,” Clarke said.
Since the show's 2011 premiere, thanks in part to the #MeToo movement, cultural conversation around the topic of s-xual assault has evolved. As such, the show, and some of its actors' comments, have not aged well.
In 2017, Momoa made headlines for a controversial joke he made at a Comic Con panel in 2011, not long after the show arrived to HBO. Momoa said he loved acting in the sci-fi genre because "there are so many things you can do...like rape beautiful women." Later that year, Momoa made another offhanded comment about raping Clarke's character to the New York Post.
Following the blowback to his unearthed remarks, Momoa posted a public apology on Instagram. "I am still severely disappointed in myself at the insensitivity of my remarks that day. I know my sincerest apology now won’t take away those hurtful words. Rape and s-xual harassment can reach anyone and I have seen first hand its painful torment among members of my own family and friends. I made a truly tasteless comment. It is unacceptable and I sincerely apologize with a heavy heart for the words I said."
