The GoT star, 36, who played Daenerys Targaryen on the original HBO series, explained to Variety while at the Sundance Film Festival why she feels the new series is “weird” for her.

“It’s too weird,” Clarke said at the festival, which she attended to promote her film The Pod Generation, before adding: “I’m so happy it’s happening. I’m so over the moon [about] all the awards. Everyone who’s made it.”

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As Clarke explained, while she feels season 1 co-showrunner Miguel Sapochnik is “brilliant,” seeing a series focused on her former character’s family history is still “so strange.”

“I just can’t do it,” she said. “It’s so weird. It’s so strange. It’s kind of like someone saying, ‘You want to go to this school reunion that’s not your year? You want to go to that school reunion?’ That’s kind of how it feels. I’m avoiding it.”

Clarke played Targaryen on GoT during its eight-season run from 2011 to 2019, and even secured four Emmy nominations during her time on the program. The show’s prequel series, which takes place over 100 years before the events of GoT, follows House Targaryen.

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Even with the success of the new show, not every former GoT cast member has thought of the prequel series as an easy watch. Kit Harington, who played Jon Snow in the original HBO series, told the Associated Press in 2021 that it “might be painful” to follow along with House of the Dragon. Elaborating to Insider later on, the actor said, “There’s emotion connected to that for me.”

“I think to see people get into outfits and costumes, that resemble what we wore for all those years, and it [has] the same music and style and tone, but not be in it is always going to feel — There’s going to be a rawness there,” Harington, 36, continued.

“Of course, I’m going to watch it and I’m going to support Miguel [Sapochnik], who’s helming the show,” he added. “I wish them all the best, but it’s so close to my heart, that story, that, of course, there might be a bit of pain there.”

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Earlier this month, House of the Dragon earned a win for best drama series at the 2023 Golden Globes.

For its first Golden Globes victory, the show beat out Better Call Saul, The Crown, Ozark and Severance for the coveted trophy. Sapochnik accepted the award and brought series stars Emma D’Arcy and Milly Alcock up on stage, asking for “a hand of applause for these amazing actors.”

He then took a moment to thank HBO “who kind of trusted us with their golden goose,” adding: “Hope it was worth it!”

“I noticed when we did the premiere in L.A., what everyone did was they had this thing of relief, rather than being excited and then they got excited,” he said. “And it was really heartwarming to know that we actually trimmed the foots of Game of Thrones, because that was one really good show.”