Emilia Clarke, back on TV in Marvel’s Secret Invasion, talks Game of Thrones, fame, and growing up around the stage

Game of Thrones star Emilia Clarke returns to the small screen in Secret Invasion, alongside Samuel L Jackson, Olivia Colman and Ben Mendelsohn

She talks about growing up around the stage, trying different roles and dealing with the fame that came with her breakout role as Daenerys Targaryen

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Game of Thrones star Emilia Clarke returns to the small screen as G’iah (above) in Marvel series “Secret Invasion” after five years working in film. Photo: Des Willie

Published: 7:15pm, 11 Jul 2023

Emilia Clarke is no stranger to projects that attract passionate fans prone to fervent discussions of even the most minute details.

The actor’s portrayal of Daenerys Targaryen, the exiled princess turned fierce Mother of Dragons on HBO’s hit epic fantasy Game of Thrones, has been seared into our collective consciousness.

Over the course of its eight-season run, audiences dissected, debated and speculated about the Emmy Award-winning series’ storylines, characters, continuity, lighting, bloopers and more.

Her big-screen roles, such as Qi’ra, Han’s enigmatic and deadly ex-friend in Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018), as well as an alternate timeline Sarah Connor in Terminator Genisys (2015), brought her into two of the most beloved franchises.

Emilia Clarke as G’iah in a still from Marvel Studios’ “Secret Invasion”. Photo: Gareth Gatrell

Now, as part of Marvel’s Secret Invasion, Clarke has joined one of the biggest cinematic universes, and it marks her first television role since wrapping production of Game of Thrones in 2018.

Developed for television by Kyle Bradstreet, the extraterrestrial political spy thriller is currently in the middle of its six-episode run on Disney+.