You guys know that I like Emilia Clarke, right? She’s usually not that the notable as an interview, but I still enjoy hearing from her. She’s not angsty or try-hard, and she usually comes across as a pretty well-adjusted person who is grateful to have such success with Game of Thrones. Usually, magazines screw up her editorials, but I’m enjoying this May cover of Vogue Australia. She looks beautiful, a little bit sultry, and sort of Rachel Weisz-esque. It’s a rare thing to have a great Emilia Clarke cover, so enjoy! And enjoy these cover story highlights:

She really hopes you enjoy her Dany: “The first couple of years I was plagued by a kind of: ‘Oh my god, this is my first role. Don’t f–k it up. Do good, just do good.’ And there was a kind of personal intensity that went along with it because I was playing a character already loved by so many people who had read the books, and just making sure that she was what people were hoping she would be.”

Die-hard GoT fans rarely recognize her with the wig: ” It’s odd. You know a diehard fan when they’re like ‘Kha-leeeee-siiiiii’ and they know who I am without the wig. But then it gets more amusing at award shows. Like, the GQ Awards last year, I walked in and I’m with my mate Lola and we’re having a great time and no-one’s talking to us and that’s chill … But then they gave me an award, so I did a little speech. And then I come off the stage and everyone’s like: ‘Oh my god, without all the dragons I didn’t recognise you!’ That was just a heightened version of what happens to me all the time. If I’m walking down the street with Kit [Harington] or Gwen [Gwendoline Christie] [her Game of Thrones co- stars] or anyone from the show, fans will be like: ‘Can you just take a picture of us please?’ And I’m like: ‘Sure I can.’”

She stays humble: “I tell you what, it just feels really joyful. I know that sounds like such a bloody L.A. thing to say, but it just feels so magical. But I can’t tell you how much I’m conscious of being grounded. And my friends and family are absolutely the first people to be like: ‘Oh, hey there, big boots.’ On a personal level I understand what it is to be unhappy or to not succeed, so my only goal in life throughout this career is to absolutely relish in the good moments. The bad ones could be just around the corner, so it’s so important to not ever get complacent. This is my life now, but [I think] enjoy everything that you’ve got because you have no idea what’s waiting around the corner. Hopefully that will maintain a healthy, positive but not egotistical outlook. It just feels lovely. It feels really nice.”

[From E! News]

I would roll my eyes at most actressses if they were using a Vogue interview to describe all the ways they keep it real. But I actually do sort of buy it with Emilia. I think she’s pleased as can be that she’s on a hit show and she doesn’t want to act like a grumpy bugger, a la Kit Harington, who can’t help but mope around with his Sadface and whine about how he’s such a heartthrob. Emilia embraces it, the good and the bad. So… yeah, I’m an Emilia Clarke apologist.

Photos courtesy of Vogue Australia.