Emilia Clarke’s Colossal Salary for Speaking Just 3 Words in a Game of Thrones Episode Explains Why House of the Dragon Didn’t Bring Her Back for the Cameo
Despite being a relatively unknown actress during the show’s inception, Emilia Clarke made a fortune in the last two seasons.
While Emilia Clarke and most of her Game of Thrones crew were relatively unknown at the time of the show’s inception, their salaries for the show skyrocketed once it was renewed back in 2014. According to reports, for seasons 5 and 6, the actress earned a whopping $300K salary per episode. Keeping in mind there were 10 episodes in each of them, her accumulated earnings would’ve amounted to $6M.
However, the actress’ salary would once again see a notable spike for seasons 7 and 8, which explains why wasn’t she approached for a cameo in House of the Dragons.
Emilia Clarke’s Humungous Earnings for the Last Two Seasons of GOT
Back in 2017, it was initially reported that the top cast members of Game of Thrones scored $2.6M per episode salary for the show’s penultimate and final season. However, this would be later debunked, as it was revealed Emilia Clarke apparently charged $500K per episode for the last two seasons of GOT, which comprised a total of 13 episodes. Moreover, considering Clarke only spoke three words in the premiere of season 7, “Shall we begin?”, each word would’ve technically amounted to around $166K.
But this isn’t to say an actor’s worth can be measured by the words they speak. Even though the show dropped the ball with its final installment, the actors, including Clarke, gave it all with their performances. Moreover, the actress also tackled the gender pay gap issue in the industry, as Clarke ensured she was making the same as her guy costars for the last two installments.
Emilia Clarke Explained Her Reasoning for Not Watching House of the Dragon
When asked about her viewpoint on House of the Dragon, which has put the GOT IP back on the map after a disastrous season 8, Emilia Clarke revealed she is yet to watch the spin-off. Even though the actress clarified that she is ecstatic over its success, considering this has nothing to do with her, she isn’t exactly comfortable experiencing it.
No! Can you [forgive me]? It’s too weird. I’m so happy it’s happening. I’m over the moon about all the awards… I just can’t do it. It’s so weird. It’s so strange. It’s kind of like someone saying, ‘You want to go to this school reunion that’s not your year? Want to go to that school reunion?’ That’s how it feels. I’m avoiding it.
Clarke isn’t the lone GOT star who has distanced themselves from the acclaimed spin-off, as Kit Harrington had a similar perspective over House of the Dragon. Considering the actor has spent a considerable amount of the last decade playing Jon Snow, he has no intentions of revisiting this chapter of his life anytime soon.
Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon are available to stream on Max.
