Game of Thrones star Emilia Clarke turned down Fifty Shades of Grey because she was “sick and tired” of being asked about nudity.
The mother of dragons recently revealed that she had turned down the lead role in Fifty Shades of Grey, the erotica series based on the book by the same name, which went on to become a billion-dollar box-office franchise.
The lead role of Anastasia Steele ultimately went to Dakota Johnson.
In a recent interview to Hollywood Reporter, during a sit down with Patricia Arquette, Michelle Williams, Christine Baranski, Danai Gurira and Niecy Nash for Drama Actress Roundtable, Clarke opened up about her decision.
“Well, Sam (Taylor-Johnson, the director) is a magician. I love her, and I thought her vision was beautiful. But the last time that I was naked on camera on (‘Game of Thrones’) was a long time ago, and yet it is the only question that I ever get asked because I am a woman,” she said.
“And it’s annoying as hell and I’m sick and tired of it because I did it for the character — I didn’t do it so some guy could check out my t*ts, for God’s sake.”
The actress continued: “So, that coming up, I was like, ‘I can’t’. I did a minimal amount and I’m pigeonholed for life, so me saying yes to that, where the entire thing is about sensuality and sex and being naked and all of that stuff, I was just like, ‘No way am I going to voluntarily walk into that situation and then never be able to look someone in the eye and be like, ‘No, you can’t keep asking me this question’.
Clarke’s remark echoed a candid chat for Marie Claire‘s 2015 cover story. At that time she had said, “I’ll never say, ‘I’m never doing nudity’ because I’ve already done it, but I thought I might get stuck in a pigeonhole that I would have struggled to get out of.”
Game of Thrones is over, but the actor is looking forward to the documentary Game of Thrones: The Last Watch.
It will air in India on Star World on May 28.