"Game of Thrones" has made Emilia Clarke a star; the actress has received many awards for her performance of the Daenerys Targaryen. That she was allowed to play the role of the dragon mother, she apparently also owes her dance skills.

This was revealed by Game of Thrones writers DB Weiss and David Benioff at the Britannia Awards ceremony when they presented Clarke with the award for "British Artist of the Year". From the first filming in 2010 to the last scene, Clarke has been an excellent representative of the British film industry, said Benioff.

That it came to this, apparently owes Clarke also their appearance at an audition in Los Angeles. A pilot episode of the series had been produced, but the station HBO have still scheduled an appointment with Clarke. He had taken place in a cinema - big, poorly lit and almost deserted. Except for Weiss, Benioff, an HBO officer, and Clarke, nobody was there. "Maybe it was the least welcoming environment for an audition we've ever experienced," Weiss said.

photo gallery


13 pictures

Emilia Clarke: Antanzen for audition

Even after Clarke's performance, the HBO executive did not move his face. Clarke asked if she could do anything to ease the mood. Whether she could dance, Benioff had wanted to know. As Clarke danced without hesitation, the "robot", said Weiss. "She did it with dedication and well." Even the HBO decision maker had to grin.

The effort was worthwhile for Clarke. Not ten seconds after she left the room, she was decided to get the role, Weiss said. Benioff and he ran after Clarke to tell her the decision. "To let her fly home eleven hours without this knowledge seemed like a cruel and inappropriate punishment."

Clarke thanked Weiss and Benioff. They deserve a prize for courage, she said. After all, they had hired someone for the series, "whose biggest job it had been to party at parties dressed as Schneeweißchen".

Clarke has been with Game of Thrones since the first season. The series is now coming to an end after eight seasons (which is known so far, read here). This brought with it all sorts of sentimental farewell words from those involved, such as Maisie Williams, but also Clarke herself. She had three little dragons tattooed on her forearm and wrote that she was now dragon mother for life.