Emilia Clarke, the iconic face of Daenerys Targaryen in Game of Thrones, has denied rumors about her pay on HBO’s series.
Seven years after the end of Game of Thrones, the David Benioff and D. B. Weiss creation, adapted from George R. R. Martin’s novels, still holds a notable record: HBO’s most-watched series. As is often the case with such success, which drew in a steadily loyal audience, the later seasons saw salary bumps for actors who rose from relative unknowns to stars.
Kit Harington, Sophie Turner, Richard Madden… all saw their public fame explode gradually and, with it, their value to studios. How much can such popularity be valued in dollars and cents? Many whispers have circulated about the pay of Game of Thrones’ stars, but Emilia Clarke, who plays the iconic Daenerys Targaryen, recently debunked one of the most cited figures.
A GOLDEN THRONE
In a lengthy interview granted to Variety, Emilia Clarke insisted she did not earn up to $300,000 per episode, as many outlets had reported. While the actress said she was paid very well (she even says she was able to pay back her parents’ mortgage), the aforementioned figure, she contends, is simply unreasonable:
“We weren’t making that kind of money. Can you imagine? I would have been driving a Porsche!”
If you take the actress at her word, the question remains. Could such a figure really be unimaginable in Hollywood? As the saying goes, the answer comes quickly.
A quick sampling to illustrate the scale (the figures below are not adjusted for current inflation):
- According to Variety and Deadline, the adult cast of Modern Family (Sofia Vergara, Ed O’Neill, Julie Bowen, Eric Stonestreet, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Ty Burrell) eventually earned $500,000 per episode for the final seasons of the sitcom (starting with season 9).
- The six principal cast members of Friends (Jennifer Aniston, Lisa Kudrow, David Schwimmer, Matthew Perry, Courteney Cox, Matt LeBlanc) were said to have been paid around $1 million per episode for the final season, per Guinness World Records and Forbes.
- At the top of the list (for now), Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon, the star-producers of The Morning Show, reportedly earned $1.25 million each per episode according to W Magazine, and even $1.5 million each per episode according to The Hollywood Reporter.
With numbers of this magnitude, the $300,000 figure for Game of Thrones actors doesn’t seem entirely crazy, but of course the sum must be weighed against the large ensemble on screen. Moreover, HBO, while a major network, probably doesn’t have the same spending power as Apple behind The Morning Show, or Disney behind Only Murders in the Building.
Whatever the actual salaries Emilia Clarke and her colleagues earned, there’s no doubt the investment paid off. The enormous popularity of George R. R. Martin’s adaptation continues to draw in fans and, for HBO, to generate ever more profits. After the pleasant surprise of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, the third season of House of the Dragon will premiere on June 21, 2026 on HBO Max.
