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  ===Casting and development===
  A blue, scale-covered dress worn by Daenerys in the TV series ''Game of Thrones''
  Martin said that the character was aged in the television series because of child pornography regulations. Tamzin Merchant played Daenerys in the original pilot, but the first episode was re-shot with Emilia Clarke in the role. Weiss and Benioff said, "Emilia was the only person we saw—and we saw hundreds—who could carry the full range that Daenerys required". Clarke, in reflection of the character's evolution in the television series, stated: "Throughout the season she's had an insane transformation from someone who barely even spoke and timidly did everything her brother said into a mother of dragons and a queen of armies and a killer of slave masters. She's a very Joan of Arc-style character." Clarke said she accepts acting nude if "a nude scene forwards a story or is shot in a way that adds insight into characters". She added that "sometimes explicit scenes are required and make sense for the characters/story, as they do in Westeros" and that she can discuss with a director how to make a gratuitously nude scene more subtle. Clarke, however, has used a body double in past background non-nude appearances, particularly Rosie Mac in season 5.
  In October 2014, Clarke and several other key cast members, all contracted for six seasons of the series, renegotiated their deals to include a potential seventh season and salary increases for seasons five, six, and seven. ''The Hollywood Reporter'' called the raises "huge", noting that the deal would make the performers "among the highest-paid actors on cable TV". ''Deadline Hollywood'' put the number for season five at "close to $300,000 an episode" for each actor, and ''The Hollywood Reporter'' wrote in June 2016 that the performers would each be paid "upward of $500,000 per episode" for seasons seven and the potential eight. In 2017, Clarke became one of the highest paid actors on television and earned £2 million per episode for the show.