Nathalie Emmanuel Recalls Emilia Clarke Shutting Down Comment About Her Revealing Costume on 'Game of Thrones' Set

Nathalie Emmanuel played Missandei on Game of Thrones from 2013 until her character's death in the final season in 2019. Missandei was an amazing woman, and one of the few characters of color in the entire series. Originally a slave who served as an interpreter to the masters of Astapor, Missandei became Daenerys' trusted advisor. The two ladies sailed across the sea in order to reclaim the Iron Throne, however Missandei died tragically at the hands of Cersei Lannister.

Even though her character didn't survive the ending of the series, Emmanuel has plenty of fond memories from being on set. According to Vogue, Emmanuel and her co-star Emilia Clarke got along right away. "Emilia and I got on like a house on fire from the beginning," Emmanuel said. "When I joined the cast, she had already been shooting Game of Thrones for a few years, and she was definitely ready to have some female energy around her. She and I always looked out for each other. If you’re the only girls on a male-dominated set, it bonds you in a certain way. For example, in my first season, my costume was pretty revealing, and there was an incident with an extra who made a comment about it on set – I mean, typical – and Emilia straightaway had my back. It got handled."

It's awesome that Clarke immediately stood up for her co-star.

Emmanuel also said that Missandei's death had a huge impact on her. "It definitely caused me to reflect a lot more – about race and diversity more generally. At the end of the day, if there’s ever a show on the level of Game of Thrones again, representation has to be part of the conversation from the beginning. That way, there’s no single person who has to represent every other person of colour," she explained.

To learn about the latest casting news for the Game of Thrones prequel spinoff, House of the Dragon, click here.