Emilia Clarke, 33, rose to fame as the beloved Game of Thrones character Daenerys Targaryen, Mother of Dragons. She is a rising star, and her career as an actress is just getting started. Before her big break on Game of Thrones, Clarke worked numerous jobs to make ends meet. And while Clarke will leave many fans awestruck, she was reduced to tears when she met one celebrity in particular.

Emilia Clarke as Daenerys on ‘Game of Thrones’

Clarke brought the character Daenerys to life for ten years throughout all the season of Game of Thrones. Daenerys became an iconic character for the show and quickly became a fan favorite.

Clarke was the second woman cast for the iconic role. However, things didn’t work out with the first actress — Tamzin Merchant _ and the part was recast with Clarke. Clarke overcame many obstacles during her rise to stardom.

What other roles has Emilia Clarke played?

Emilia Clarke | Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic

Clarke expertly portrayed Qi’ra in Solo: A Star Wars Story. Qi’ra is an alluring and sly dynamic character expertly brought to life by Clarke. Solo: A Star Wars Story premiered in May 2018 also starred Alden Ehrenreich as Han Solo, Joonas Suotamo as Chewbacca, Woody Harrelson as Becket, Donald Glover as Lando Calrissian, and Thandie Newton as Val.

Clarke starred in the 2016 romantic drama Me Before You alongside Sam Claflin. Her portrayal of Lou Clark was spot-on. Me Before You is based on the novel written by Jojo Moyes.

Where is Emilia Clarke’s career heading next?

Her latest role is in the romantic comedy Last Christmas, directed by Paul Feig. Last Christmas debuts November 8, 2019 and stars Clarke alongside Crazy Rich Asian’s star Henry Golding.

In a recent interview with NPR Clarke discussed her character Kate and how she was able to draw on her experience with a life-threatening medical condition to relate to the medical crisis that Kate faced. She elaborated that her medical emergencies occurred during her early 20s, and so did Kate’s. Although the movie deals with some serious situations such as illness and alcoholism, it is full of humor.

Clarke isn’t afraid of being typecast as the Mother of Dragons. She is thankful for her experience on Game of Thrones and the opportunities she has because of it.

Above Suspicion is another upcoming movie staring Clarke; she will play the character, Susan Smith. Filming is complete; however, the release date is unknown at this time. She has demonstrated repeatedly that she is a skilled and versatile actress. She is in it for the long-haul and likely has a prominent and successful acting career ahead of her.

She is active on Instagram and is an advocate for brain surgery and stroke awareness.

A surprise encounter with a celebrity left Emilia Clarke in tears

Clarke is an Emmy-nominated star and a prominent cast member on Game of Thrones, yet that didn’t stop her from getting star struck. While on The Graham Norton Show Clarke spoke candidly about an embarrassing moment meeting an A-list celebrity.

Clarke was happy just to be invited to an Oscars after-party, she hadn’t even considered the possibility of meeting Beyonce and Jay-Z at the event.

Clarke discussed the embarrassing encounter on The Graham Norton Show: “‘Oh my god.’ too many drinks in, started crying, it didn’t go well. I mean, literally, eyes welling up like, ‘I can’t handle this, it’s too intense.'”

She explained that Beyonce probably expected to say hello and engage in a cool conversation and instead was greeted by a very shocked and tearful Clarke. Most people can relate to how surprising it would be to turn around and see Beyonce walking up to say hi. Even Emmy-nominated celebrities get starstruck sometimes.