Nathalie Emmanuel has praised Emilia Clarke for being a "supportive" co-star.
The ‘Game of Thrones’ actress turned to the 30-year-old beauty for advice when her character Missandei stripped naked for a scene in the fourth season of the hit HBO fantasy drama, and has said she was "reassured" by the star – who plays Daenerys Targaryen – after confessing she had "hang-ups" about her body.
She said: "I was quite nervous, so [Emilia] was really supportive and reassured me. I’m comfortable with my own nudity, but we all have body hang-ups and I’m no exception to that. Sometimes I want to cry when I’m in a bikini! But I often try to do things I’m afraid of because it takes away the fear. They’re just boobs – we see them every day."
And despite being nervous to bare all, Nathalie, 28, felt "really proud" once the episode aired.
She added: "I felt really empowered and was really proud when I watched it. I was pleased that I did it and thought it was a beautiful scene. It felt very Adam-and-Eve-like, and it wasn’t about the nudity. There’s a real prudishness when it comes to nudity, but our bodies aren’t something to be ashamed of. There’s nothing indecent or bad about it. But just because I’ve done nudity on ‘GoT’ doesn’t mean I’ll do it for every job."
It’s not all good news though, as the former ‘Hollyoaks’ star admits she often gets handed snapshots of her nude scene to sign, and feels "uncomfortable" knowing the public has access to that side of her.
Speaking about being asked to sign her nude photo, Nathalie told Fabulous magazine: "It happens all the time. It’s bad. I refuse to sign them. For me, it feels a little gratuitous because I’m not a glamour model. I was telling a story rather than trying to sexualise myself. People only associate nudity with sex, and it makes me uncomfortable that someone has a picture of me nude."