Game of Thrones star Emilia Clarke pans nude scenes
'Most sex scenes you see in films or on TV are gratuitous,' British actress says
Though acclaimed cable TV hit Game of Thrones is infamous for its explicit sex and nudity scenes, actress Emilia Clarke has reiterated her call for more subtlety.
The 28-year-old British actress noted that she cringes "at that sort of thing anyway — I can't stand it," she said in a conversation with a Daily Mail columnist.
Clarke, who plays a leading role in the fantasy saga as the ambitious exiled princess Daenerys Targaryen with her eye on the throne, appeared nude in multiple scenes during the first season of HBO's Game of Thrones.
"I don't want to have sex thrown in my face and I've always thought the suggestion is so much more titillating than the act itself," she told the British paper.
"Most sex scenes you see in films or on TV are gratuitous and they're usually just to attract an audience."
Though Clarke's Game of Thrones wardrobe often features revealing clothing, she has rarely appeared fully nude in subsequent seasons.
"There are other women who remove items of clothing on our show, so they've kind of got my nipple count down now," she quipped in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter in March.
Though she also had a brief nude scene during her short Broadway run as Holly Golightly in 2013's Breakfast at Tiffany's, Clarke said she has since pushed back against them and turned down roles that might call for it — including the lead in Fifty Shades of Grey.
"I'd done nudity before and was concerned with being labelled for doing it again," she told The Hollywood Reporter.
Game of Thrones producers have garnered criticism for a variety of issues, including the show's sex and nudity scenes, which regularly feature frontal nudity of female cast members and, to a lesser extent, nude rear shots of male actors. Some stars have opted to use body doubles, while others have filmed their own nude scenes.
The sixth season of Game of Thrones is currently under production and expected to debut in spring 2016.