Emilia Clarke 'can't stand' sex scenes

LONDON, Sept. 14 (UPI) -- English actress Emilia Clarke isn't a fan of sex scenes.

The 28-year-old star, who portrays Daenerys Targaryen on Game of Thrones, said as much to the Daily Mail over the weekend. Clarke's stance on sex scenes follows word she will no longer appear topless on the HBO series.

"Sex scenes should be more subtle," she opined. "I'm British, so I cringe at that sort of thing anyway -- I can't stand it. I don't want to have sex thrown in my face and I've always thought the suggestion is so much more titillating than the act itself."

"Most sex scenes you see in films or on TV are gratuitous and they're usually just to attract an audience," she related. "On screen, the subtler the better."

Clarke's former co-star, Oona Chaplin, told the Telegraph in 2013 that "one of the girls on the show" with several early topless scenes "doesn't at all [now] because she said, 'I want to be known for my acting, not for my breasts.'" The unnamed actress is thought to be Clarke.

The star's comments about sex scenes come amid growing concern about Hollywood's treatment of women. Several actresses, including Cate Blanchett and Anne Hathaway, discussed sexism with the New York Times in an interview published last week.

"I've for many years tried to tell myself I wasn't treated differently because I was a woman," Hathaway, who will next star in The Intern, shared. "And I just thought maybe if I say these things they will be true. I wish they were, but they're not."

"I'm not looking to be an advocate for women in film," she qualified. "That being said, I do actively take an interest in not perpetuating stereotypes that hold women back."

Game of Thrones is based on the A Song of Ice and Fire book series by George R.R. Martin, and will return for a sixth season in 2016. Clarke last appeared in Terminator Genisys, and is scheduled for Voice from the Stone with Marton Csokas.