Why Emilia Clarke says she 'can't watch' House of the Dragon

It makes sense

Emilia Clarke on why she doesn't watch House of the Dragon
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Emilia Clarke won't be watching House of the Dragon anytime soon.

Speaking about it to People, Emilia said: "I still can't." She added: "I just don't know what it is."

The actress went on: "I feel so content and happy with what my experience was, that I think watching the new one would just feel so odd, I think."

But don't think Emilia's decision not to watch the series is a sign of disapproval: "I really do fully support the entire thing and everyone who's made it, and it's beautiful how successful it's been," she said. "It's absolutely amazing."

Obviously, the reason the actress was being asked about House of the Dragon in the first place is that the show, whose second season has just come out, is a prequel to Game of Thrones — in which she starred as Daenerys Targaryen between 2011 and 2019.

House of the Dragon Season 2 | Official Trailer | Max - YouTube House of the Dragon Season 2 | Official Trailer | Max - YouTube
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As for how she feels about Game of Thrones five years on from the finale, Emilia told People: "The more distance I have from Game of Thrones, the more I can quantify it."

She explained: "When I started, you don't know what you're doing, you don't know what you're surrounded by and you don't know what you're taking part in.

"Now, as more and more time goes between it and me doing it, the more I'm like, that was incredibly special and that was incredibly rare."

Since the cult series began, Emilia has gone on to star in the likes of Me Before You and Last Christmas.

But one of her main points of focus since then has been her charity work with the organisation she founded, SameYou, which supports those dealing with the effects of brain injury. Emilia has famously been very open about her experience with two brain injuries and subsequent surgeries, which both happened in the time Game of Thrones was still airing.

Earlier this year, Emilia and her mum Jennifer Clarke were awarded MBEs by Prince William for their work on SameYou.

Meanwhile, Emilia has just announced her new role as a global brand ambassador for Pegasus Distillerie. Lots of exciting things!

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Iris Goldsztajn
Iris Goldsztajn is a celebrity and royal news writer for Marie Claire. As a London-based freelance journalist, she writes about wellness, relationships, pop culture, beauty and more for the likes of InStyle, Women's Health, Bustle, Stylist and Red. Aside from her quasi-personal investment in celebs' comings and goings, Iris is especially interested in debunking diet culture and destigmatising mental health struggles. Previously, she was the associate editor for Her Campus, where she oversaw the style and beauty news sections, as well as producing gift guides, personal essays and celebrity interviews. There, she worked remotely from Los Angeles, after returning from a three-month stint as an editorial intern for Cosmopolitan.com in New York. As an undergraduate at the University of California, Los Angeles, she interned at goop and C California Style and served as Her Campus' national style and LGBTQ+ editor. Iris was born and raised in France by a French father and an English mother. Her Spotify Wrapped is riddled with country music and One Direction, and she can typically be found eating her body weight in cheap chocolate.