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Did the Funky Chicken land Emilia Clarke her ‘Game of Thrones’ role?

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One of the breakout stars of HBO’s “Game of Thrones” is Emilia Clarke, who plays the blond-haired “Mother of Dragons,” Daenerys Targaryen, on the hit series. While Clarke’s acting chops are not in question, one does have to wonder how an actress fresh out of drama school landed such an important role. On Wednesday night’s “Tonight Show,” she may have given us a big clue.

Talking to Jimmy Fallon, Clarke discussed her audition for the role, which involved doing multiple scenes in front of “Game of Thrones” show runners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, as well as many executives from HBO.

Clarke said she was anxious, but she managed to get through all of the scenes they asked her to perform for the audition. At the end, she asked the assembled writers and executives if there was anything else she could do for them.

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“David Benioff suggested I do a dance,” Clarke recalled. So she did. The Funky Chicken, melding into the Robot. Two dances that don’t exist in the Seven Kingdoms (or even distant Essos) in any form.

“I heard laughter going on and I thought, ‘Comedy gold!’” Clarke said.

Her dance skills may be middle-school level, but it sure didn’t hurt her chances. She landed the part and received her first Emmy nomination last year.

Now we’re just waiting to hear about the time Daniel Day-Lewis lambada-ed his way into the “Lincoln” role.

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