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Game of Thrones actress Emilia Clarke was told not to disappoint fans when she raised objections to nude scenes

 Emilia Clarke attends the
Emilia Clarke attends the

GAME of Thrones actress Emilia Clarke has revealed she was told not to "disappoint fans" when she raised objections to filming nude scenes.

The London-born actress said she used to cry in the toilets during production for the HBO fantasy series in which she portrayed Daenerys Targaryen.

Her character, known as the Mother of Dragons, appeared in a variety of sex scenes throughout the programme and admitted she had "fights on sets" regarding nudity.

Speaking to Dax Shepard on his Armchair Expert podcast, Clarke, 33, spoke about the pressures she felt while filming the first series of the award-winning show.

She said: “Season one was was a f**k tonne of nudity. "I’m a lot more savvy [now] with what I’m comfortable with, and what I am okay with doing.

"I’ve had fights on set before where I’m like, "No, the sheet stays up", and they’re like, "You don’t wanna disappoint your Game of Thrones fans". And I’m like, "F*** you."'

The 33-year-old did not name anyone who urged her to film nude scenes. Clarke had recently graduated from Drama Centre when she was cast in the adaptation of George R R Martin’s fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire.

The show, which first aired in 2011, quickly garnered a reputation for its nudity, swearing, violence and dragons but later faced a backlash over the rape of Sansa Stark in season five.

Emilia Clarke as Daenerys Targaryen - Credit: HBO
Emilia Clarke as Daenerys Targaryen Credit: HBO

Clarke, who is currently promoting her new film, Last Christmas, told Shepard: "I took the job and then they sent me the scripts and I was reading them, and I was, like, 'Oh, there’s the catch!'  Clarke, who said she had only worked on a film set twice before her Game of Thrones role, said she believed that "if it’s in the script then it’s clearly needed".

She explained: "So I came to terms with that beforehand, but then going in and doing it… I’m floating through this first season and I have no idea what I’m doing, I have no idea what any of this is.

"I’m now on a film set completely naked with all of these people, and I don’t know what I’m meant to do and I don’t know what’s expected of me, and I don’t know what you want and I don’t know what I want."

Clarke added she would release her emotion by crying in the toilets before returning to set to finishing her scenes.

The Me Before You actress said that filming nude scenes with Jason Mamoa, who played Clarke's on-screen husband Khal Drogo for ten episodes of the first season, was "wonderful" as he encouraged her to stand her ground.

Her final nude scene was in season six when Daenerys emerged from a burning temple that she had set alight, killing those inside it, naked but unharmed.

Speaking about the scene Clarke said: “When I did the last nudity that I did for the show, which was walking through the fire - second time round - I was like I am owning this. This is mine. They’ve asked me to do it and do you know what I’m f**king game.”

HBO have been approached for comment.