Actress Emilia Clarke has publicly refuted reports that she earned exaggerated sums for her role in Game of Thrones [1].
Clarke's comments address long-standing misconceptions about the financial rewards of the series and provide a rare glimpse into her private health struggles following the show's conclusion.
Clarke, who played Daenerys Targaryen from 2011 to 2019 [2], dismissed rumors that the main cast's per-episode pay was as high as some reports suggested [3]. The actress joked about the scale of the misinformation, suggesting that if the rumors were true, she would have been driving multiple Porsches [3].
While the series reached a massive scale—with more than 25 million viewers per episode at its peak [4]—Clarke said the reported earnings were wildly exaggerated [3].
Beyond her finances, Clarke spoke about the psychological toll of surviving two brain hemorrhages. She described the experience of living with survivor's guilt, noting the feeling that she had cheated death [1].
"I felt that I had cheated death and it was coming to get me," Clarke said [1].
In addition to reflecting on her past, the actress discussed her current professional projects. She shared details regarding the upcoming second season of her new series, "Ponies" [1].
The interview, which was conducted the morning after the 2019 Emmy Awards [2], provides a retrospective look at the actress's transition from a global phenomenon to her current work in television [1].
“"I felt that I had cheated death and it was coming to get me."”
By addressing both her financial history and her medical trauma, Clarke is attempting to decouple her public image from the mythos of Game of Thrones. Her transparency regarding survivor's guilt and the correction of salary rumors serves to humanize a celebrity often defined by a singular, high-profile role while pivoting the public's attention toward her new project, "Ponies."
