Game of Thrones is no stranger to nudity, and series star Emilia Clarke is no exception. In the show's opening seasons, Clarke's character Daenerys could regularly be seen nude.
That began to change in later seasons of the show, as Dany's rise to power put her in a much more comfortable position. There was also a report that circulated online that had Clarke saying she disliked nude scenes, and that her contract contained a clause stating she wouldn't appear naked on the show in in the future.
Clarke took to Instagram last year to dispel those rumors, and last night, she proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that she has no problem with nudity ... as long as it has a point.
In the latest episode of Game of Thrones season six, Dany finds herself standing "trial" before a group of Dothraki khals who are debating what should be done with her. Dany gives a long speech about how the men are unfit to lead the Dothraki and that they all have small minds. When they begin to threaten her, she engulfs the entire temple in flames, burning the men alive.
She then emerges from the flaming building completely naked, yet unscathed, as the Mother of Dragons had already done once before in the show's first season. The Dothraki people then bow down to Dany, viewing her as a goddess, effectively making her the leader of the Dothraki horde.
It was a powerful, epic scene, but some fans were skeptical that the nude woman featured was actually Clarke. Speaking with EW, Clarke dispels any rumors.
"I'd like to remind people the last time I took my clothes off was season 3," she says. "That was awhile ago. It's now season 6. But this is all me, all proud, all strong. I'm just feeling genuinely happy I said ‘Yes.' That ain't no body double!"
There was, however, something that felt a little off about the scene. As it turns out, Clarke filmed the scene on a closed set in Belfast, while the rest of the sequence with the other actors took place on location in Spain.
"Taking off my clothes is not the easiest thing, but with the magic of the effects, I don't have to do a season 1 and go on a cliff and do it," she says. "I'm in control of it."
Clarke's words match up perfectly with what the actress told fans last year shortly after rumors about her dislike of nudity began to spread across the Web.
"In drama, if a nude scene forwards a story or is shot in a way that adds insight into characters, I'm perfectly fine with it," she wrote on Instagram in September. "Sometimes explicit scenes are required and make sense for the characters/story, as they do in Westeros. If it's gratuitous for gratuitous sake, then I will discuss with a director on how to make it more subtle. In either case, like a good Mother of Dragons, I'm always in control."
Spoken like a true Khaleesi.
