Summary
Emilia Clarke recounted one of the films she starred after she catapulted to fame for portraying Daenerys Targaryen, aka the “Mother of Dragons,” inGame of Thrones. She reunited with one of theGoTdirectors for the project, but their tandem wasn’t enough to make the movie a hit.
Clarke made her acting debut in 2009 with a guest role in BBC’s medical dramaDoctors. Her first major role was in the movieTriassic Attack(2010), where she played Savannah, a college student dealing with resurrected dinosaur fossils. However, she became famous after being cast as Daenerys inGame of Thronesin 2010. Clarke has since appeared in multiple projects, includingSpike Island(2012),Dom Hemingway(2013),TerminatorGenisys(2015),Me Before You(2016),Voice Work: Animal Farm & Futurama (2014, 2019), Solo: A Star Wars Story(2018),Last Christmas(2019),Above Suspicion (2021),andSecret Invasion(2023). In a previous interview, she spoke about her experience with one of the projects and admitted that it wasn’t great.
In an interview withVanity Fair, Clarke recounted her experience filmingTerminator Genisys. In the project, she reunited with filmmaker Alan Taylor, who directed multiple episodes ofGame of Thrones,including the Season 1 finale “Fire and Blood.” However, according to Clarke, Taylor wasn’t at his best at the time because he was “eaten and chewed up” during the production. Clarke admitted that she also didn’t enjoy her time filming the movie. “He was not the director I remembered. He didn’t have a good time. No one had a good time,” Clarke told Vanity Fair.
It appeared that their unhappiness on the set was reflected in the project’s performance becauseTerminator Genisysreceived generally negative reviews from critics. It has a 26% approval rating from 263 critics onRotten Tomatoes. “A ‘Terminator’ film brings with it certain high expectations (from some audiences), and ‘Genisys’ doesn’t meet them,” Keith Garlington of Keith & the Movies said about the project. While it lacks critical acclaim, it has moderate box office performance, making $440 million worldwide against a $155 million production budget. Overall, it was considered underwhelming, which unsurprisingly led to the cancelation of the planned sequels. Following its poor performance and reception, Clarke said she was “relieved” she didn’t need to do the sequel. Clarke was in close competition withBrie Larsonand Tatiana Maslany for the role of Sarah Connor. Paramount reportedly considered Larson the best fit for the role, but the job offer eventually went to Clarke, whose star was on the rise at the time.
Although Terminator Genisyswas a high-profile project for Clarke, it did not provide the career boost many expected. However, it also did not hinder her career; she went on to star in multiple other projects, including MCU’sSecret Invasion, where she portrayedG’iah, and many approved of her performance. Several said she was “terrific” as Taco’s daughter. Overall, her portrayal was well-received. Clarke is a good actress and a flopped movie doesn’t define her whole acting career. She will still be remembered by many as Daenerys fromGame of Thronesand not Sarah Connor fromTerminator Genisys.
