Game Of Thrones' Emilia Clarke Reveals She Had To Be Sewn In And Out Of Her Costume

Emilia Clarke has revealed just how authentic her Game of Thrones costumes were, reminding fans that there are no zippers in Westeros.

Clarke had some unforgettable outfits for the final season of Game of Thrones, where she played Queen Daenerys Targaryen. She spoke about the regal dresses she wore in a recent episode of Variety Studio's Actors on Actors. In a conversation with Little star Regina Hall, she said that she had to be sewn in and out of many of her costumes each day.

"Michelle Clapton who designs the costumes is an absolute living god," she said. "I will never look as good, seriously... It's all corsets, it's all sewn in. She doesn't believe in zips!"

Clarke and Hall both laughed as the actress made a dubious expression, suggesting that she did not love her high maintenance costumes unequivocally.

"It's great, it's great," Clarke said.

"—When you can inhale and exhale," Hall added.

"Yeah," Clarke laughed. "It's just really not great when you're like 'I need to wrap!' Like, you see me with the scissors trying to cut out of it!"

Clarke went on, saying she needed an "equal amount of time" to get sewn into her costumes as she did to get her makeup done and her elaborate wig in place. She is not the only one either, as she revealed she and Sophie Turner — who plays Sansa Stark — were wheezing together between takes.

Clarke even revealed that the rigid costumes dictated her posture and bearing in the final season, where Daenerys really came into her own as a queen. She also took strength from the armored pieces when she wore them, such as in the season's two big battle sequences.

Clarke played Daenerys for nearly a decade on one of the most influential shows of the era. There have been divisive reviews of the final season of Game of Thrones, with many feels feeling that the writers did not do justice to the character, and by extension Clarke herself.

However fans may feel, for Clarke the role was a lifesaver — literally, she told Hall. She opened up about how the work helped her cope with her two brain injuries in the show's early seasons and how much the dragon queen's story means to her.

"I always say that Daenerys literally saved my life, because it puts you in quite the headspace when you've had a brain injury," she said. "Walking in her shoes, I just put so much more into each season because it really was life or death. I felt so powerfully that she was saving me. I could only see her."

Game of Thrones is streaming in its entirety on HBO Go and HBO Now.