Emilia Isobel Euphemia Rose Clarke born October 23 1986 is a British actress best known for her portrayal as Daenerys Targaryen in Game of Thrones She has received various accolades including an Empire Award a Saturn Award and four Primetime Emmy Award nominations In 2019 Time magazine named Clarke one of the 100 most influential people in the world She studied at the Drama Centre London appearing in a number of stage productions Her television debut was a guest appearance in the BBC One medical soap opera Doctors in 2009 The following year she was named as one of the UK Stars of Tomorrow by Screen International magazine for her role in the TV film Triassic Attack 2010 Clarke had her breakthrough role as Daenerys Targaryen in the HBO epic fantasy television series Game of Thrones 20112019 Clarke made her Broadway debut as Holly Golightly in the 2013 play Breakfast at Tiffanys and played Nina in a West End production of The Seagull that was suspended due to the COVID19 pandemic Her film roles include Sarah Connor in the science fiction film Terminator Genisys 2015 Qira in the Star Wars film Solo A Star Wars Story 2018 and the romantic films Me Before You 2016 and Last Christmas 2019