Emilia Clarke on turning down Fifty Shades of Grey: 'I'd done nudity and was concerned with being labelled for doing it again'

Emilia Clarke said the possibility of being labelled for nudity made her turn down the role of Anastasia Steele in Fifty Shades of Grey.

Clarke, 28, who plays Daenerys Targaryen in HBO’s hit fantasy series Game of Thrones, was afraid that she would be labelled for nudity if she took the role in the adaptation of the best-selling erotic novel.

"I'd done nudity before and was concerned with being labelled for doing it again," she told The Hollywood Reporter.

Clarke – who has “no regrets” about not accepting the role - was rumoured to be a front runner to play the submissive Ms Steele and met with the film’s director Sam Taylor-Johnson twice.

But it’s not just Game of Thrones where she has been known to undress. When she starred on Broadway in 2013 as Holly Golightly in Breakfast Of Tiffany’s, audience members tried to capture the moment she slipped naked into a bathtub - something she recalls as “a bit bonkers."

Clarke – who has finished filming the role of Sarah Connor in Terminator: Genisys – said despite Game of Thrones approaching its fifth season and with filming beginning in July on season six, she still finds it hard to take in the show’s level of success.

"Never in a million years did I think Game of Thrones was going to take off like it did. It's taken me five years to catch up with it. I'm still not sure I'm there."

The fifth series of Game Of Thrones, based on the books by George RR Martin, starts on April 13 on Sky Atlantic.