2000–2010: Beginnings Clarke started to act in stage productions while attending school. She appeared in student productions of
Twelfth Night and
West Side Story while attending St Edward's School. After taking a sabbatical year, she was accepted into Drama Centre London. One of her first film roles was in
Drop the Dog, a
University of London student short film. She graduated from drama school in 2009. She worked at various non-acting jobs after graduating while auditioning for roles. She starred in two commercials for the charity
Samaritans, portraying a domestic abuse victim. Her first credited television role was a
bit part in a 2009 episode of the British soap opera
Doctors. Clarke was cast in her first professional film role, playing Savannah in the 2010 television film
Triassic Attack. The film was released in November 2010 on the
Syfy channel in the United States where it received negative reviews. Despite the film's reviews, she was named a "UK Star of Tomorrow" by the film magazine
Screen International.
2011–2019: Game of Thrones and worldwide recognition in 2011 Clarke was cast in her third professional role in 2010, as
Daenerys Targaryen in the
HBO fantasy series
Game of Thrones. It is based on the fantasy book series
A Song of Ice and Fire by
George R. R. Martin. Actress
Tamzin Merchant was originally cast for the part of Daenerys. When the
pilot episode was re-shot in early 2010, Merchant was replaced by Clarke. The show ran from April 2011 until May 2019, with Clarke portraying Daenerys throughout all
eight seasons. Clarke received critical acclaim for her portrayal of Daenerys, which traces an arc from frightened girl to powerful woman. Matthew Gilbert of
The Boston Globe called her scenes "mesmerising", adding that "Clarke doesn't have a lot of emotional variety to work with as Daenerys, aside from fierce determination, and yet she is riveting."
Emily St. James for
The A.V. Club commented on the difficulty of adapting such an evolution from page to screen, but concluded that Clarke was able to "more than seal the deal here." Clarke said by being cast as Daenerys, she had avoided the "typical bonnet duty that you have to go through as a young British actress". In 2017, she reportedly became one of the
highest-paid actors on television, earning between £1.2 and £2 million per episode of
Game of Thrones. In 2019, she said she had been uncomfortable acting nude in her first experience at age 23 of a large film set, but had since become "a lot more savvy" about what level of nudity is needed for a scene. Clarke received multiple award nominations and wins for her role of Daenerys. She was nominated three times for Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series in 2013, 2015, and 2016. At the
2019 Emmys, she was nominated for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series, her first nomination in the category. In addition to the television show, she lent her voice and likeness to the 2014
video game of the same name. She also made a
cameo appearance during
Kit Harington monologue on
Saturday Night Live in April 2019. She said in a November 2019
NPR interview that if she "were to get stereotyped as the mother of dragons, I could ask for worse. It's really quite wonderful." In a 2021 interview with
theSkimm, Clarke stated that she would change the
way her character died.
2012–2021: Varied roles, franchise films, and publishing Clarke's first film role was in the short film
Shackled (2012). The film was featured in the 2020
Amazon Prime Video horror
anthology series Murder Manual. The same year, she starred alongside
Elliott Tittensor in the comedy film
Spike Island. It details a group of friends who try to get to the
namesake island of
The Stone Roses 1990 concert. The movie was originally distributed only in the United Kingdom but was subsequently picked up by Level 33 Entertainment for North American distribution in March 2015. From March to April 2013, she played Holly Golightly in a
Broadway production of ''
Breakfast at Tiffany's, a role requiring her to perform a nude scene. The production, along with her performance, received mixed reviews from critics. Later that year, she also starred in the black comedy-crime drama film Dom Hemingway'' alongside
Jude Law. In May 2013 Clarke was cast in a film adaptation of the novel
The Garden of Last Days.
James Franco was set to direct and star in the film; however, he left the project two weeks before filming after creative differences with the film distributor
Millennium Entertainment. In a 2019 interview with
The Hollywood Reporter, Clarke said she was offered the role of
Anastasia Steele in
Fifty Shades of Grey. She said she turned down the part because of the nudity required. In 2013, she was cast as
Sarah Connor in the science fiction action film
Terminator Genisys (2015). The film, which also stars
Arnold Schwarzenegger,
Jai Courtney, and
Jason Clarke, received unfavourable reviews from critics but was a box office success, grossing over $440 million worldwide. Clarke was nominated for
Teen Choice Award for Choice Summer Movie Star – Female and Best International Actress at the 2016
Jupiter Awards for her performance. She starred as the female lead, opposite
Sam Claflin, in the film adaptation of the best-selling novel of the same name,
Me Before You. The film which was released on 3 June 2016 and directed by
Thea Sharrock, received mixed critical reviews. The film was a box office success with worldwide revenues of $200 million. For her role as Louisa "Lou" Clark, she shared nominations with Sam Claflin for the
Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Liplock and the
MTV Television Tearjerker Award. In 2017, she played the lead as Nurse Verena in the supernatural psychological thriller film
Voice from the Stone. The film was released in April 2017 for a
limited theatre run, followed by
video on demand and digital HD. '' in 2018 She was cast as the female lead in
Solo: A Star Wars Story in November 2016. The movie, which was directed by
Ron Howard and premiered in May 2018, details the origins of
Star Wars characters
Han Solo and
Chewbacca. Clarke played
Qi'ra, Han's childhood friend and love interest. The film received favourable critical reviews despite being the second-lowest grossing
Star Wars film. The film was released worldwide on 25 May 2018. Her performance received positive critical reviews with many calling her one of the standouts of the film. Clarke, along with
Jack Huston, was cast in 2016 as leads in the film
Above Suspicion (2019). The film is based on a thriller novel by
Joe Sharkey and directed by
Phillip Noyce, and was announced at the
2016 Cannes Film Festival. The film received generally favourable reviews with Clarke's performance being highly praised by critics. It also had a turbulent release which left it vulnerable to piracy. In late 2019, Clarke starred opposite
Henry Golding in the romantic comedy
Last Christmas. The film was written by
Emma Thompson and directed by
Paul Feig. In a January 2020 interview with
Bustle magazine, Clarke stated she was inspired by
Will Ferrell character in the 2003 comedy film
Elf. Despite its unfavourable reviews, critics praised Clarke's performance, and the film went on to become a box office success grossing over $121 million worldwide. Clarke starred as Nina in the
West End production of
Anton Chekhov's
The Seagull, directed by
Jamie Lloyd, which began previews on 11 March 2020 at the
Playhouse Theatre. The production was suspended on 16 March due to the
COVID-19 pandemic. The play was Clarke's first West End production. It resumed two years later in July 2022 and was broadcast internationally via
National Theatre Live. The play, along with her portrayal of Nina won acclaim, with critics calling Clarke's performance, "magnetic" and "undeniably charismatic." In 2021, Clarke published the first in a series of comic books titled
M.O.M.: Mother of Madness that she co-wrote with
Marguerite Bennett.
2022-present: Expansion into Franchise and Independent Cinema In 2022, Clarke was cast in the animated film
The Amazing Maurice. The film, which is an adaptation of
The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents by
Terry Pratchett, was released in the United Kingdom on 16 December 2022 and in the United States on 3 February 2023. In January 2023, Clarke starred in and executive produced
The Pod Generation. The film had its premiere at the
Sundance Film Festival and was directed by
Sophie Barthes. Clarke was cast as the lead in the English language adaptation of the 2015 Korean romantic comedy
The Beauty Inside. , the film was yet to begin production. It was announced in May 2019 that Clarke is set to play the English poet
Elizabeth Barrett in the film
Let Me Count the Ways, which
The Wife director
Björn Runge was set to direct. Clarke played G'iah in
Secret Invasion for
Disney+, set in the
Marvel Cinematic Universe (2023). In October 2021, Clarke was cast as Jean Kerr, wife of
Joseph McCarthy, in a biopic titled
McCarthy. In October 2022, it was announced that Clarke is set to play Irish author
Constance Lloyd in director
Sophie Hyde’s film
An Ideal Wife. In 2026, Clarke starred in and executive produced the Cold-War era drama
Ponies.
Variety praised the series as an endearing spy caper that allowed Clarke to show her range. Clarke's on-screen chemistry with co-star
Haley Lu Richardson was also praised with
Collider contributor Tania Hussain writing "Clarke and Richardson drive the series with an electric chemistry and partnership that feels well-earned". ==Other ventures==