New York: Game of Thrones’ Emilia Clarke is on high swing this year. The 28-year-old Londoner, who plays menacing, white-haired Daenerys Targaryen, aka Khaleesi, aka Mother of Dragons in Game of Thrones, has been voted the most attractive Woman Alive by Esquire magazine.
The announcement was made by the magazine on early Tuesday, but GQ got there first, anointing Clarke Woman of the Year in September. Including her high-profile role on the popular HBO series, Clarke was Sarah Connor in the summer movie hit Terminator: Genisys.
She can step in to any role which is given to her. She can do fierce, but also friendly. At the same time she can be a queen, but also kid sister, killer or girl next door, writes Benjamin Markovits in the Esquire story accompanying Clarke’s nude cover, belly down with bedsheet strategically placed. Lisa Hintelmann, editorial projects director for the magazine, called Clarke the all-around favourite.
“Emilia Clarke is unforgettable in Game of Thrones and was hands down the number one choice of Esquire’s staff, friends and family,” she said in an email.
Clarke is the second child of by-the-bootstraps parents. Mom started as a secretary and rose to marketing executive and dad made it out of working-class Wolverhampton near Birmingham to become a roadie, then sound specialist for big-budget musicals.
The most attractive lady followed her brother into boarding school because “I fancied his friends,” she told Esquire, then she went on to study drama in college, pulling a couple of episodes on the long-running British daytime soap “Doctors” after graduation. She worked multiple jobs while living with friends before Game of Thrones changed her life when it began airing in 2011.
Clarke recalled some difficulties on the show early on. She was just 23. There was full frontal nudity scene. She tells Markovits how she suffered along with her character.
“Once, I had to take a little time out,” she said. “I said I needed a cup of tea, had a bit of a cry, and was ready for the next scene.”
That’s what the English call “mucking in,” or striking a balance between helping out and getting your hands dirty while maintaining a smile on your face, Markovits writes. Clarke, he said, is good at it.
