Emilia Clarke shuts down $300K per episode GOT pay rumor, says 'I’d have been driving Porsches'
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Emilia Clarke is clearing up one of the biggest long-running rumors among 'Game of Thrones' fans - the show’s cast salaries.
During an interview, the actress said the widely circulated figure of $300,000 per episode is not true. She also joked that if she had been paid that much, she would have said, “Can you imagine? I’d have been driving a couple of Porsches.”
While she did not say where the false claim originated, her comments directly challenge the long-held assumption about the show’s pay scale.
Emilia Clarke talks about her salary rumor
In an interview with Variety, Clarke clarified, “We didn’t earn that much.” She joked that if the figure were true, she would have changed her life.
The original reports about 'Game of Thrones' salaries started in 2014. At that time, Hollywood trade outlets like Deadline and The Hollywood Reporter suggested that the main cast would earn around a hefty amount per episode, as also mentioned in Medium.
As quoted by the outlet citing Deadline, "I hear mainstays Peter Dinklage, Kit Harington, Lena Headey, Emilia Clarke and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau will all be paid close to $300,000 an episode."
"I hear the quintet did not negotiate together, with the deals done one by one over the past couple of months, with Harington, Headey, and Clarke closing their new contracts first, followed by Dinklage, with Coster-Waldau wrapping the marathon talks. In exchange, the five have agreed to extend their deals to a seventh season."
She also reflected on the pressures of global fame saying, “I spent a lot of time trying to understand it, and then you realize it’s just a formula. The less you’re on TV, the less famous you are. It comes, and it goes."
Emilia Clarke reflects on 'Game of Thrones' fame and life-changing success
Clarke reflected on her time in 'Game of Thrones', saying the show became a global phenomenon that completely changed the lives of its cast. She noted that one of the major impacts was financial stability, which even allowed her to pay off her parents’ mortgage.
She explained that she put a lot of effort into understanding her character across each season, making every decision feel authentic. Clarke said, “I was given the seasons, and I, to the best of my ability, empathized and understood and tracked every choice she made so it felt like mine,” adding, “I felt like that was what my job was.”
Clarke also praised Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and DB Weiss, calling them "geniuses". She also told the outlet that she had no “creative input” as a star of the series, adding, “nor did I want any.”
