Emilia Clarke Started Her Game Of Thrones Career By Falling Straight Off Her Horse
Have we gotten to the point in the culture where "Game of Thrones" has become underrated? After the lackluster final season and a finale generally perceived to be underwhelming at best, I think there has been an unfortunate siloing away of the series as a whole, where people let the ending color their entire perception of the show. This was a television show we breathlessly anticipated every single week, spent hours upon hours debating with friends about who was going to win the titular game and who was going to die, and now, it feels like a distant memory, even with the prequel series "House of the Dragon" having a pretty successful first season last year.
Someone I think took an unfair hit in the reception of the final season was Emilia Clarke. There was much debate and grousing about what happened with Daenerys Targaryen in the final few episodes of the show with her complete turn to the dark side and whether or not they properly set up that character evolution. I would argue they did, but that's beside the matter. Daenerys was the fan-favorite character, the Mother of Dragons, and a badass people wanted to see rule Westeros. They felt betrayed.
People drastically undervalued what Emilia Clarke was bringing to the table as an actor. Even if the character was going down a path people didn't understand, her commitment to the character never wavered, straddling a line between sheer vulnerability and fiery bluster at all times. Clarke was essentially a newcomer when she joined "Game of Thrones," and seeing her progression as an actor was one of the joys of the show. And she certainly was green when she began it. Before she wound up mastering dragon-riding, she couldn't even stay on top of a horse.
'Hanging on for dear life'
"Game of Thrones" was not exactly shot on an episode-by-episode basis, as most television shows are. With the number of locations used, its shooting pattern more resembled a feature film shoot. So, after the pilot, Emilia Clarke's first day on "Game of Thrones" was shooting a scene from the third episode, "Lord Snow." It seems simple enough. She and Iain Glen's Ser Jorah Mormont have a conversation as they slowly trek through a forest on horseback. But it was not so simple. Clarke recalled her embarrassing first day in a retrospective video for the series' ending:
"Oh my god, I fell off a f***ing horse. Jesus, this is my first job ... I was falling off the horse trying to act still. And I remember just being – hanging on for dear – I mean, literally, I'm like hanging on like this. And I'm hanging on for dear life and I just remember shouting, 'Please stop filming!' And I'm like, 'Okay, everything's gonna be fine.' Turn around like, 'Oh my god,' there's like this whole crew, and I just cried. So, that was my first day on 'Game of Thrones.' That was it. That was – 'Hey, mom, I had a really good day.'"
Actors lie on their resumes all the time, particularly with special skills. They don't want to be disqualified for a role because they seemingly don't know how to do something. One of the more frequently lied about skills is horseback riding, as there are a surprising number of films requiring this skill. I don't know if Emilia Clarke claimed she could ride a horse or not, but clearly, her skills weren't exactly top-tier. Luckily for her, she spent more time on dragons than horses. Those must be a little easier to ride, I guess.