Emilia Clarke admits playing 'much-loved' characters can be 'incredibly daunting'

NEW YORK, June 6 (UPI) -- British actress Emilia Clarke admits playing characters with established fanbases can be "incredibly daunting."

"My track record is naively taking on much-loved characters," the actress told UPI in New York while she was promoting her new, big-screen romance Me Before You.

"Because I did Breakfast at Tiffany's, Terminator, Game of Thrones and now this," she explained. "So, genuinely, every other project has felt incredibly daunting, but, this, I felt so akin to Lou and I felt like I understood her so much that I was like: 'No, I don't care what you guys think. This is what I think about her.' And I felt very vindicated in that. That I was in agreement with everybody else, whereas the other ones had kind of been up on the mantle for a little bit longer, so, maybe, had a few more opinions."

Me Before You is an adaptation of Jojo Moyes' best-selling love story by the same name. It follows the cash-strapped Lou as she loses her job in a café and is hired by bitter, quadriplegic Will's parents to keep him company and cheer him up. Just as Lou melts Will's heart and they begin to positively influence each other's world views, Lou learns Will had earlier made a heart-breaking pact with his mother and father whereas he agreed to try to adapt to his disabilities for six months and if he can't be happy, he will end his life with the help of doctors in Switzerland. Lou embarks on a campaign to convince Will life is not only worth living, but that he should spend his with her.

Co-starring Sam Claflin, the movie is in theaters now.