NEW YORK (AP) — It's most definitely Emilia Clarke's year.
The
28-year-old Londoner, who plays menacing, white-haired Daenerys
Targaryen, aka Khaleesi, aka Mother of Dragons on "Game of Thrones," is
Esquire's Sexiest Woman Alive.
The magazine made the announcement early Tuesday, but GQ got there first, anointing Clarke Woman of the Year in September.
In
addition to her high-profile role on the massively popular HBO series,
Clarke was Sarah Connor in the summer movie hit "Terminator: Genisys."
She
can do fierce, but also friendly. She can be queen, but also kid
sister, killer or girl next door, writes Benjamin Markovits in the
Esquire story accompanying Clarke's nude cover, belly down with bedsheet
strategically placed.
Lisa Hintelmann, editorial projects director for the magazine, called Clarke the all-around favorite.
"Emilia
Clarke is unforgettable in 'Game of Thrones' and was hands down the
number one choice of Esquire's staff, friends and family," she said in
an email.
On
the pages of Esquire, with more sultry photos inside, she is also
"Lilly," the alias she takes after donning a disguise to frolic at
London's Crystal Palace Park with Markovits for a round of "Game of
Phones," a group treasure hunt thought up by a social networking company
and intended to help people make new friends in a new city.
She isn't recognized.
Clarke
is the second child of by-the-bootstraps parents. Mom started as a
secretary and rose to marketing executive and dad made it out of
working-class Wolverhampton near Birmingham to become roadie, then sound
specialist for big-budget musicals.
She
followed her brother into boarding school because "I fancied his
friends," she told Esquire, then she went on to study drama in college,
pulling a couple of episodes on the long-running British daytime soap
"Doctors" after graduation. She worked multiple jobs while living with
friends before "Game of Thrones" changed her life when it began airing
in 2011.
Clarke
recalled some difficulties on the show early on. She was just 23. There
was full frontal nudity, lots of sex, even a rape scene. She tells
Markovits how she suffered along with her character.
"Once,
I had to take a little time out," she said. "I said I needed a cup of
tea, had a bit of a cry, and was ready for the next scene."
That's
what the English call "mucking in," or striking a balance between
helping out and getting your hands dirty while maintaining a smile on
your face, Markovits writes. Clarke, he said, is good at it.
She
recalled in the story her father's early warnings about lowering
expectations as an actress when she first started out, and her days
working at a call center.
Sexy but still real, Markovits declares, "is the gorgeous balance of Emilia Clarke."
Comments
Post a Comment