‘Game of Thrones’ star Emilia Clarke turned down ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ over nude scenes, she says
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“Game of Thrones” star Emilia Clarke turned down a major role in the 2015 film “Fifty Shades of Grey” over nudity, she revealed this week.
Though the actress — who played the beloved character Daenerys Targaryen in the hit HBO fantasy series — had a few nude scenes during her time on “Thrones,” Clarke told The Hollywood Reporter as part of its annual “TV Drama Actress Roundtable” that she turned down the role of Anastasia Steele because she didn’t want to be known for on-screen nudity.
“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. 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 [breasts], for God's sake,” she said.
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“So, that coming up, I was like, ‘I can't,’” she continued. “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.'”
Actress Dakota Johnson later played the role of Anastasia. Actor Jamie Dornan played Christian Grey. The first film, which was based on the book by E. L. James, was followed by two sequels: “Fifty Shades Darker” and “Fifty Shades Freed.”
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Clarke, while speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, added she doesn’t have any interest participating in a project that could involve a sequel at this time. (Clarke played Daenerys for a decade on the HBO show.)
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“One thing I would not like to do is something that would have a sequel. Something that could have, like, ‘And then two and then three and then four.’ I'd like to not do one of those for a minute,” she said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Ahead of the ending of the eighth and final season of “Thrones” last week, Clarke took to Instagram to post a heartfelt message to fans and the show’s cast and crew.
"Finding the words to write this post has left me overwhelmed with how much I want to say but how small words feel in comparison to what this show and Dany have meant to me," the actress wrote, in part.