One of the primary contenders for the Iron Throne, Daenerys Targaryen, (known by a veritable laundry list of names that range from "Breaker of Chains" to "Khaleesi" to "Mother of Dragons") has grown from a meek young bride to a warrior queen with a massive army and a litter of dragons behind her. Daenerys has given the show some of its most epic moments, and that's thanks in large part to Emilia Clarke's performance, as viewers might guess from her multiple Emmy nominations in years past. As a fearless leader who can do everything from ride a dragon to walk through fire to inspire whole civilizations, Daenerys has become another of the show's most popular characters, and even a feminist icon. Clarke rose to prominence in her role as the Dragon Queen, but since she began her turn on Thrones in 2011, the high-profile part has earned her plenty of other opportunities. In 2015, Clarke took her first big mid-Thrones role in Terminator: Genisys, where she played Sarah Connor. She would eventually admit she was relieved by the film's negative reviews, as she was glad to not be obligated to return for any sequels. Romance fans, meanwhile, might remember Clarke from Me Before You, where she appeared as a caretaker to Sam Claflin's disabled character. But her most popular (non-Thrones) part yet came in Solo: A Star Wars Story, where she played the lead character Qi'ra, a former lover of Han Solo.<doc-sep>To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video As we approach the final hurdle in the epic that is Game Of Thrones, it’s hard to forget the actors who portray these characters look strikingly different to their on screen likenesses. In some cases, we’re talking different hair colours, sometimes no hair at all and in the case of Jaime Lannister, all limbs still intact. He still sometimes totally looks like the Prince from Shrek, though… Let’s be honest, when we all first saw what Daenerys looked like IRL we were shooketh. But then we took a peak at the rest of the cast and saw that, yep, there are quite a few stars who took a few more hours in the makeup chair than others. And it forced the actors to try and lean into their characters more, with Sophie Turner dying her hair red to emulate the natural locks of Sansa Stark. Now she sports light blonde hair and rocks a wig on the HBO set to save those tresses. So before we see them begin to take their last bow in the season eight premiere this evening, let’s compare and contrast, eh? Emilia Clarke/Daenerys Targaryen Sweet baby Dany has opposite hair to Emilia (Picture: HBO, left, and Evan Agostini/Invision/AP) In the past Emilia explained when she dyed her usually brunette locks to blonde she saw everyone reference her role. ‘I get recognised a lot more, and I’m less good at dealing with that,’ she previously explained to Harper’s Bazaar. ‘You clock anyone who’s got this hair colour anyway. So you see someone with peroxide blonde hair you look, and then [people] go “oh my god it’s that chick from the show with the dragons” – and then I’m running!’ Sophie Turner/Sansa Stark It’s all wig, baby (Picture: HBO, left, and Evan Agostini/Invision/AP) Sophie admitted that she dyed her hair so often it became so badly damaged – seeing as blonde peroxide isn’t really the best thing for one’s strands. After one too many returns to blonde, the Game Of Thrones hairstylists put a hard ban on the X-Men star from picking up the paintbrush again. Sansa was now a wig woman. ‘A few years ago, I was trying to go back from red to blonde, and it destroyed my hair to the point that I had to use a wig for Game of Thrones,’ she told Glamour. ‘They wouldn’t let me dye it back red or my hair would’ve fallen out.’ Nikolaj Coster-Waldau/Jaime Lannister Nikolaj and Jaime large look the same (Picture:Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, left, and HBO) Nikolaj doesn’t look too dissimilar to his on-screen compadre Jaime – albeit in real life Nikolaj still sports his hand, after Jaime was relieved of his in the first season. When it comes to looks, we’ve seen Jaime’s hairstyle stay with Nikolaj on the red carpets, even though the fictional character looks a little scruffier these days. Times are tough in Westeros. Peter Dinklage/Tyrison Lannister These two are strikingly similar (Picture: HBO, left, and Evan Agostini/Invision/AP) There isn’t much difference between Peter and his onscreen wise-cracking character Tyrion. The two both sport brunette, scruffy hair and while Peter is more a fan of the goatee, Tyrion has been known to known to rock the facial hair – especially since taking on the role of the Hand Of The Queen. Gwendoline Christie/Brienne Of Tarth We live for both these women (Picture: Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, left, and HBO) While Brienne is ballsy and brash and can wield a sword better than pretty much everyone in Westeros, she doesn’t have much time for the palaver of hair and makeup. And more power to her. In real life, Gwendoline Christie has mastered the balance of being a boss as well as owning every red carpet she steps on. Her butterfly-esque gown from the season eight premiere last week should cement that good and hard. Kit Harington/Jon Snow Kit finally cut his hair off and we all cried (Picture: Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, left, and HBO) Kit Harington and Jon Snow could have passed for twins up until Kit filmed his final scenes as the Stark bastard and cut his curly locks off. Famous for his pout, the actor’s character also sported the same broody look which made it mighty hard to tell the two apart. After season eight filming wrapped, though, Kit debuted a shorter hairstyle and hearts around the world broke – Jon Snow was done and dusted. ‘I’d like to step away and enjoy the obscurity, cut my hair, make myself less recognizable as the character, and go do and some other things with a completely new look and tone,’ he previously told EW. He added: ‘The beard will be harder to get rid of – I quite like the beard. I like having the long hair and beard both, but it will be like ritualistic thing. I can’t go into my next role looking the same. This role was brilliant, but I’ll need to get rid of Jon Snow.’ Still, we’d hazard a guess that ‘you know nothing’ pout is going to stay with us forever. Maisie Williams/Arya Stark Maisie dyed her hair purple following the last day on set (Picture: HBO, left, and Evan Agostini/Invision/AP) While Arya Stark shared a likeness to the actress that portrays her, Maisie Williams, as soon as she was done wreaking havoc on the show Maisie dyed her hair bright pink. After debuting a purple hue on the premiere red carpet, it seems like the fresh digital entrepreneur isn’t done with the daring looks following her years sporting a straighty-180 hairstyle for Arya. ‘I dyed it because I didn’t want to work,’ Maisie told Rolling Stone. ‘It’s a pretty good way of stopping that. And it just feels so good, so me. ‘I’ve battled my whole adolescence with trying to put a stamp on my appearance, but also be a blank canvas as an actor.’ Isaac Hempstead Wright Isaac is just a swisher version (Picture: HBO, left, and Evan Agostini/Invision/AP) Isaac is really a swisher version of Bran Stark, if you compare their on screen to IRL likenesses. While Bran may indeed take on a whole new character this season (if White Walker theory stans are anything to go by) right now the only difference between the two is Isaac sports glasses and Bran gets about in an old-timey wheelchair. Yeah, we’re clutching at straws, aren’t we? Jason Momoa/Khal Drogo We don’t care that Khal isn’t about anymore, still worthy of comparison (Picture: Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, left, and HBO) We don’t really care that Khal Drogo left us in season one – the comparison between the fearsome warrior and actor Jason Momoa is still worthy of mention. Because we’ll never forget. The leader of the Dothraki army sported a styled beard, braids and some funky kohl eyeliner in the series as he married Dany and made our hearts soar (after some painful introduction episodes that made it hard for us to take to him in the beginning), Jason has the epic scar that really made Khal stand out. He’s yet to rock the eyeliner on the red carpet though, but never say never. Game of Thrones season 8 continues next Sunday on HBO and will be simulcast on Sky Atlantic. Seasons one to seven are currently available to stream on NOW TV. Got a showbiz story? If you've got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page - we'd love to hear from you. MORE : Ahead of Game of Thrones season 8 launch, who is predicted to die in the final season? MORE : Game of Thrones and Harry Potter mad parents name their baby after their favourite characters<doc-sep>
Television’s biggest show returned with a bang last night as Belfast’s Waterfront Hall staged the star-studded premiere of the final season of Game of Thrones, described by its producers as a “homecoming”. Nor were they the only ones to feel that way. “It’s hard to describe all the emotions I feel about being here,” said Kit Harington, who plays Jon Snow. “It’s the place where I spent most of my 20s, where I made some of my closest friends and where I met my wife [he is married to Rose Leslie, who played Ygritte]. It would be doing my time here a disservice if I didn’t reflect on it and give in to the emotions I feel.” The story of the warring Seven Kingdoms of Westeros, adapted from George RR Martin’s fantasy series, has become a television phenomenon over the past eight years. It is TV’s most illegally downloaded programme and the one most shrouded in secrecy: guests at last night’s event signed agreements not to leak any salient plot points and had to guarantee there would be no use of phones or recording devices. Maisie Williams, Kit Harington, Sophie Turner and Isaac Hempstead Wright attend the Game of Thrones screening at the Waterfront Hall in Belfast. Photograph: Charles McQuillan/Getty Images “I did notice coming back to the show how much tighter the security surrounding the show [was],” said Joe Dempsie, who plays blacksmith Gendry. “There’s no paper on Game of Thrones these days. No paper scripts. Everything is electronic. Everything is kept under wraps. It’s all locked down.” The days when viewers talked of “sexposition” – criticising the show for its juxtaposition of sex and murder – are long gone: most of the estimated 30 million people who tune into the opening episode will be doing so for one reason: to find out, after seven tumultuous seasons, who lives and who dies. Game of Thrones has become a pop culture phenomenon, watched by Barack Obama, the former US president who reportedly asked for episodes early and received them, and rapper Jay Z, who apparently bought one of Dragon Queen Daenerys’s eggs for his wife, Beyoncé. The Dark Hedges near Stranocum in County Antrim featured as the King’s Road in season two. Photograph: Charles McQuillan/Getty Images Donald Trump ran into a spot of bother when he used the show’s distinctive font to announce that “Sanctions Are Coming”, a message that misread the show’s central message and led to a slap down from HBO. “We were not aware of this messaging and would prefer our trademark not to be misappropriated for political purposes,” said a spokeswoman for the cable channel. Game of Thrones is thought to bring in about £18m each year in tourism revenue to Northern Ireland, historically one of the poorest regions of the UK, in addition to providing upwards of 900 full-time and almost 6,000 part-time jobs. Northern Ireland Screen has estimated that £210m was spent on goods and services during the show’s production; most recently a £1m set was built in Belfast’s Titanic Quarter for the final season, the most expensive movie set to have been made in Northern Ireland. The show has also been credited with boosting Northern Ireland’s property market, as Belfast benefits from the establishment of the country as a film and entertainment hub. Ulster Museum is displaying a magnificent 77-metre Bayeux-style tapestry depicting every gory event in the show’s history from the Red Wedding to the Battle of Hardhome. Queen Elizabeth admires the iron throne on a visit to the set of Game of Thrones in Northern Ireland. Photograph: Brian Lawless/PA Yet while fans gathered in Belfast might have come to mark the end of an era, the show itself is not quite ready to die. A prequel series, The Long Night, starring Naomi Watts, has been commissioned by HBO and begins filming in Northern Ireland this October. Harington has his own ideas of what’s coming next: “I don’t like to plan anything too much,” he said. “But one thing I do know is that I don’t feel like playing the hero for a while. I’d like to play something less straightforward and a bit messed up.” Game of Thrones returns to Sky Atlantic and Now TV at 2am and 9pm on 15 April.