It’s not just the brunette hair that makes Emilia Clarke almost unrecognizable from her star-making role as Daenerys Targaryen in Game of Thrones. It’s the megawatt smile, the quickness with which she breaks into peeling laughter, and the general sense of joy and mischief that surrounds her.
It was Clarke’s natural positivity that attracted the actor to her most recent role as Lou in Me Before You, an adaptation of the hugely popular novel about a romance between a simple English girl and a wealthy playboy who becomes paraplegic after an accident.
“What drew me to this movie were the words of Jojo Moyes – the book first and then the script,” says Clarke. “I was hooked on page one and so excited to play a character with such charm and sincerity, who is so authentically and brilliantly British, and with such a lovely arc in her story.”
Lou’s unsophisticated charm initially clashes with the proud and reticent manner of Will Traynor, the man to whom she becomes a caregiver and companion. When Lou meets Will, she quickly ascertains that he is no longer the audacious adventurer of yore, in spirit as well as in body. 
“Will is a man who has apparently been everywhere, seen everything, done it all,” Clarke observes, “and Lou is the exact opposite. She comes to him with naïveté and sincerity, a way of looking at the world that has escaped him up to this point. She’s unabashedly, unashamedly klutzy – and she makes him laugh. He’s forced to see the genuine light that can be found in life, through her eyes.” 
Will is played by Hunger Games star Sam Claflin, and the onscreen chemistry between Clarke and him is evident, as her character slowly draws him out of his shell and re-introduces him to the feeling of joy. Clarke is effusive about her co-star. “Sam is an absolute dreamboat,” she says. “It was brilliant playing opposite him. He’s the easiest person to work with. He gives so much – it was just wonderful.”

EMOTIONAL MESSAGE
Clarke was determined to do a comedy having starred in Game Of Thrones, now in its sixth series, and opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger in Terminator Genisys – though she does say that she’s grown very fond of doing big, stunt-fuelled, action sequences.
“I’ve grown up on Game Of Thrones. I really have, in every way. As the show has grown, so have the stunts. It’s got bigger and bigger with every season, so that prepared me for a big blockbuster. So it wasn’t a huge shock getting to the set of Terminator.”
That film ignited a part of Emilia’s personality she had never before accessed: that of her inner gun-nut.
“Filming Terminator, I weirdly became really obsessed with using guns. After learning how to shoot, I wanted to learn how to take a gun apart and put it back together blindfolded. That obsession with firearms was surprising. It worried me a bit (laughs)!”
While she has taken action, drama and now romance and comedy in her stride, and has an attraction to playing strong women, Clarke reveals that becoming Holly Golightly in Truman Capote’s Breakfast at Tiffany’s on Broadway back in 2013 was one of the most daunting experiences of her career.
“Going back to theatre was the most frightening thing I’d ever done,” she admits. “It definitely brought out the self-critical perfectionist in me. I feel stage work and screen work are like two different art forms – you’re really calling upon so many different skills on stage. Feeling the temperature of the room and reacting to that is so intense. But then so much of films, and television shows, are made in the editing room. And so, you really have so much more control over your stage performance. But yeah, I’m making a habit out of taking iconic roles, and hopefully not completely ruining them!”
As for Me Before You, Clarke is hoping that audiences will not only recognize the strength within her slightly ditzy character, but that they will be moved by the emotional message of the film.
“On a really fundamental level, I would love for people to take away from this movie the joy that life has to offer, the joy that love has to offer. It’s a story that touched people when they read it and all of us as we were making it – so I hope it will touch the people who watch it, as well.” 

Me Before You is in cinemas now.