Emilia Clarke Faced Her Fears For Last Christmas‘ Big Musical Number

Daenerys Targaryen may have met a tragic end in the Game of Thrones series finale, but Emilia Clarke’s career continues to flourish in new and exciting ways. And while her latest movie, Last Christmas, is a far cry from fire-breathing dragons and White Walker battles, the actress attempts to conquer an equally difficult feat in this holiday dramedy: singing. Just from the trailer alone, her character, Kate, can be seen belting out some musical tunes, but is Emilia Clarke really singing in Last Christmas or is there some vocal trickery at work here?

The answer to that question is a resounding, yes — Clarke is actually singing in Last Christmas, which is something the actress herself confirmed during a recent interview with Entertainment Tonight. "I don't do my own stunts but I do do my own singing," Clarke told the outlet. "I was aware that that would be too much pressure for me to be like, 'It's George Michael! I'm singing to George Michael!' [But then] I kind of realised that the words that I was saying were so poignant for the character, and that I was telling her story, and it's just that George Michael was giving me the vehicle with which to do it."

But despite her can-do attitude and determination to make her own vocal contributions, Clarke admitted to NPR in a separate interview that the process was downright terrifying, given the amount of pressure she put on herself to do it right. "It was incredibly nerve-wracking, because I care so much about singing, and I'm genuinely at my happiest when I am singing," she explained. "However, doing it on camera in front of a lot of people, and doing it, you know, with George's perfect song was — every time before I sing I just think I'm getting tonsillitis, or my throat is closing up or something — so it took a lot of courage, but I got there."

Interestingly enough, this doesn’t serve as Clarke’s first foray in the musical arena. She starred in a Broadway version of Breakfast at Tiffany’s back in 2013, in which she portrayed Holly Golightly. She also participated in a Red Nose Day skit that involved a Game of Thrones musical with Clarke busting a tune like only the Mother of Dragons could. This one was more amusing than vocally challenging, but still.