Clarke on the dragon ladies of ‘Game of Thrones’

Actor of Daenerys Targaryen fame hits back after show comes under fire for its depiction of sexual violence

LOS ANGELES: Game of Thrones actor Emilia Clarke shot down misogynistic claims over the popular TV series. She said the female characters on the show have become much stronger. The 28-year-old hit back after the show was slammed for its depiction of sexual violence.

“You start to see all the women in the show accepting who they are and embodying that with such power that it’s palpable. I think that’s the beauty of the show,” said Clarke, who plays Daenerys Targaryen in the HBO series. “As women, we accept our femininity and take strength from it, as opposed to trying to hide it and behave in a masculine way,” she added.

“People have started to see Daenerys as a strong female icon,” she stated. Comments were made referring to a controversial scene in which actor Lena Headey’s character Cersei Lannister appeared to be raped by her brother whilst laying next to her son.

In other news, George R R Martin, author of A Song of Ice and Fire novel series, which Game of Thrones is based on, is developing a new series titled Captain Cosmos for HBO. The upcoming drama centres on a visionary young writer living at the dawn of the age of TV in 1949, who creates a science-fiction series that tells stories no one else will dare to tell. Michael Cassutt is writing the pilot of the show.

Martin, however, is not expected to commit a lot of time to the possible new series. Earlier, he cancelled a number of appearances and said he wouldn’t write for Game of Thrones season five to focus more on completing the sixth book of A Song of Ice and Fire series.

He said he’s determined to finish the new book The Winds of Winter by 2016, before the sixth season of the TV series goes on air. He admitted that he regretted not working on the new book immediately after finishing 2011’s A Dance with Dragons.

“I was red-hot on the book and put it aside for six months. I was pushing so hard that I was writing very well. I should have just gone on from there because I was so into it and it was moving so fast then,” he shared. “But I didn’t because I had to switch gears into the editing phase and then the book tour. The iron does cool off for me, especially.” 

Published in The Express Tribune, April 10^th,  2015.

Like Life & Style on Facebook, follow @ETLifeandStyle on Twitter for the latest in fashion, gossip and entertainment.