Emilia Clarke: Brits sound brainy

Emilia Clarke has been told that English people sound intelligent.

The British actress has seen her star soar thanks to her portrayal of Daenerys Targaryen in smash hit TV show Game of Thrones.

Prior to her casting, Emilia only had small acting credits to her name. She's one of many Brit stars who make the Game of Thrones cast, although she's unsure why so many of her fellow countrymen have been used.

"One of the HBO publicists said, 'It’s because English people sound more intelligent', which I don’t really think is true at all," Emilia told British magazine The Big Issue. "Maybe because it harks back to a medieval age. I genuinely couldn’t tell you, except England is older than America."

Game of Thrones is based on A Song of Ice and Fire, George R. R. Martin's popular series of fantasy novels.

When she accepted the role, which she describes as a dream come true, 26-year-old Emilia knew it would be at the mercy of his loyal fans, but was willing to accept the challenge.

"No, I choose not to," she answered when questioned on whether she paid attention to what the fans are saying. "I know there is an enormous fanbase and when I started this, all I wanted was to do them proud and make sure they were happy. I tried to do that and I think me looking at the comments, good or bad, probably isn’t the best thing for my brain. So I’ve chosen to avoid looking at them. Hopefully they’re pleased. That’s all I can say."