Emilia Clarke of ‘Game of Thrones’ is Esquire’s Sexiest Woman Alive

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British actress Emilia Clarke is Esquire’s Sexiest Woman Alive 2015. (Photo: Vincent Peters/Esquire)

Game of Thrones star and 28-year-old British actress Emilia Clarke has just been named Esquire’s Sexiest Woman Alive 2015, an accolade held by Scarlett Johansson, Rihanna, and Penelope Cruz in the past. “Half pal, half dominatrix. Half kid sister, half sexy queen. The movie star who plays, in her real life, an anonymous, funny beauty. This is the gorgeous balance of Emilia Clarke,” explains writer Benjamin Markovits regarding her appeal. On Game of Thrones, Clarke’s Khaleesi is so fierce that she has her own kingdom in addition to three baby dragons. It’s not a typical role for a rising Hollywood starlet.

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Emilia Clarke on the cover of Esquire November 2015. (Photo: Vincent Peters/Esquire)

In the cover story interview, Clarke describes her first audition for Game of Thrones, in which her agent, advocating for her, told the casting director: “I know that the breakdown for this character is tall and willowy and blonde. I know she’s short and round and brown, but I’d like you to see her.” Turns out, she explains, the casting director was looking for someone beyond cookie cutter descriptions: “[S]omeone who could grow before your eyes in one season, who could gather strength and show vulnerability, they wanted the arc…”

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Emilia Clarke was called “short and round and brown” by her agent. (Photo: Vincent Peters/Esquire)

Clarke recently finished the press tour for her film, Terminator Genisys, with Arnold Schwarzenegger, continuing her career trajectory with strong roles. Back in 2013 for just two months, she portrayed Holly Golightly in a Broadway production of Breakfast at Tiffany’s — a role that we all know is destined for Hollywood icons.

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