EMILIA CLARKE ON WHY HER NEW ROLE IS A DREAM COME TRUE
‘LAST CHRISTMAS’ STAR EMILIA CLARKE TALKS ABOUT WHY HER NEW ROLE IS A ‘DREAM COME TRUE’ AND WHY FINDING LOVE IS ‘DIFFICULT’
She’s one of the most sought after actresses after her breakthrough role as Daenerys Targaryen in Game Of Thrones. But it seems her busy schedule won’t get in the way of Emilia Clarke jumping into her parents’ bed every Christmas morning to open her presents!
‘It’s very much a family thing for me,’ says Emilia, 33. And the festivities are just getting started, as the award-winning actress is set to star as leading lady Kate in the upcoming movie Last Christmas, alongside
Crazy Rich Asians star Henry Golding. Despite her character finding love, it’s something London-born Emilia has said is ‘difficult’.
‘Fame and dating is a s**t show!’ says the star, who previously dated actor Seth Macfarlane in 2012 and US director Charlie Mcdowell earlier this year. Touching on the idea of trying online dating, she says: ‘I think I would only get weird responses on Tinder.’
But Emilia can relate to her ‘lost’ character Kate suffering a major health scare. The actress revealed back in March that she survived two brain aneurysms at just 24 years old – a time where she couldn’t even recall her own name.
‘I could see my life ahead, and it wasn’t worth living. I am an actor; I need to remember my lines. Now I couldn’t recall my name… In my worst moments, I wanted to pull the plug. I asked the medical staff to let me die,’ Emilia recalled. Now, thankfully, she is at ‘one hundred per cent’ and healed ‘beyond my most unreasonable hopes’.
Here, the candid star talks about how she celebrates Christmas every year and why that won’t change, how fame has impacted on her dating life and her hopes for the #Metoo movement...
What can you tell us about your new movie, Last Christmas?
I’m really delighted with Last Christmas. It’s a movie written by Emma Thompson and directed by Paul Feig [Bridesmaids director]. It’s a comedy and it’s a drama; it’s everything, it’s amazing!
‘I COULD SEE MY LIFE AHEAD – AND IT WASN’T WORTH LIVING’
Do you celebrate Christmas?
Yes, I do. That’s something I most definitely do! I think I’ve probably spent one Christmas outside of my home. It’s very much a family thing for me. My parents always worked abroad and were away quite a lot. My brother and I were in boarding school, so Christmas was the one time we could all come together – and that’s what we continue to do. Even though my brother and I are in our thirties, we climb into our parents’ bed every Christmas morning to open up our stockings!
What happens when either of you have a girlfriend or boyfriend?
Oh, I know! My brother was like: ‘They’re not allowed.’ And I was like: ‘Well, what are they going to do? Just stay downstairs while we are having a lovely time?’ [Laughs] We need a bigger bed!
How has fame affected your dating life? I missed out on dating. It’s funny… Tinder came along and I was like, Can I go on Tinder? No, probably not. It might be interesting, though. It would be weird, too. I think I’d only get weird responses on Tinder.
It sounds like dating isn’t so great when you’re famous…
Fame and dating is a s**t show! It’s difficult because you are in this ‘other’ realm, which doesn’t exist by the way; it’s all perceived and imagined. And then you are with someone looking at you in a much weirder way than they would do otherwise. Simon Pegg said being famous is like wearing a stupid hat you can’t take off. That’s exactly how it feels, so imagine going on a date with a stupid hat on all the time. But I manage.
Can you go out incognito?
I don’t do the tube. I did that a couple of times and it’s quite claustrophobic. Because you’ve got that b **** y hat on and you’ve got a whole train carriage looking at you. Instead, I walk around London a lot, which is something I love to do. I put on my headphones and listen to music – or I listen to the podcasts I am obsessed with.
Do you have the same friends you had from before you found fame?
My very good friends have been with me for well over 15 years. Although, I’m very lucky that I get to do amazing jobs like this and meet really great people where fame doesn’t need to come into play. Fame is a very fickle thing that will be there one minute and gone the next. I’m incredibly aware of that. For that reason, it’s good not to create too much of yourself based on that. I think that’s really important.
The #Metoo movement came into the spotlight since you found fame. What are your hopes for the movement?
When you’re dealing with a part of society that has shaped the world we live in to such an extent, you can’t expect that momentum to be kept at its height for as long as that. But what you can hope for is that younger generations will be educated in a much more open way by the people who are living through the #Metoo experience right now. You hope that boys and girls get to be vocal with each other about when they feel uncomfortable or when something doesn’t feel appropriate. What you can hope for is a ripple of change to happen, so that when I have kids they will grow up in a world where there’s less of a gender divide and it’s much more about human beings all together.
What was it like to shoot Last Christmas in London?
It was amazing. The city is already so beautiful at Christmas time, but we added more lights and sparkle to every location, which made it look even more magical. We are also so lucky to have some of George Michael’s music in the movie. I never thought I’d do a movie where I got to sing and do comedy, so it’s a dream come true.
Have you always enjoyed singing?
When I was much younger, I did a lot of jazz and scat singing. I’ve always enjoyed it. My dad is a sound designer, so music has always been an important part of my life. I was listening to Dionne Warwick at three years old! It got to a point when I was at school, I thought, what should I be pursuing: the acting or singing? The acting won out, but I love any opportunity I get to sing now.
What’s your karaoke song?
Son Of A Preacher Man is pretty good, but I do rap as well. Salt-n-pepa’s Shoop is a good one for me; just to show off that I know all the words to that song.
‘LAST CHRISTMAS’ IS OUT ON NOVEMBER 15.
‘FAME IS A FICKLE THING THAT WILL BE THERE ONE MINUTE AND GONE THE NEXT’