Sexism is so prevalent across Hollywood it is “like dealing with racism”, according to Game of Thrones actor Emilia Clarke, who plays the popular television character Daenerys Targaryen.
The 30-year-old British actor, who has had a leading role in the Emmy award-winning medieval fantasy series since it premiered in 2011, said she was often the only woman on set and would have fewer lines than her male co-stars.
“I feel so naive for saying it, but it’s like dealing with racism,” she said in an interview with Rolling Stone magazine.
“You’re aware of it, and you’re aware of it, but one day, you go, ‘Oh, my God, it’s everywhere!’ It took me a really long time to see that I do get treated differently. But I look around, and that’s my daily life,” Clarke added.
Last year, women and girls comprised just 29% of protagonists among the 100 top-grossing US films, according to the Centre for the Study of Women in Television and Film at San Diego State University, California.
{{/usCountry}}Last year, women and girls comprised just 29% of protagonists among the 100 top-grossing US films, according to the Centre for the Study of Women in Television and Film at San Diego State University, California.
{{/usCountry}}Clarke said it was important for strong women to be represented on screen, such as her character Daenerys Targaryen, a queen vying for the throne in the fictional series.
“Anyone who seems to think that it’s not needed need only look at the political environment we’re all living in to be like, ‘Oh, no, it’s needed. It is needed,’?” she said.
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