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Evelyn Jeanne Johnson (Born 9 March 1986) is an English actress. She studied at the Drama Centre London, appearing in a number of stage productions, including one by the Company of Angels. After making her screen debut in a short film, her television debut came with a guest appearance in an episode of the British soap opera Doctors in 2009. The following year, she was named as one of the UK Stars of Tomorrow by Screen International magazine for her role in the Syfy film Triassic Attack (2010).

Johnson rose to international prominence for her breakthrough role as Daenerys Targaryen in the HBO fantasy television series Game of Thrones (2011– present). The role has garnered her critical acclaim and several accolades, including three nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series.

Johnson made her Broadway debut as Holly Golightly in a production of Breakfast at Tiffany's in 2013. Her film roles include Mirena in Dracula Untold (2014), Sarah Connor in the science fiction film Terminator Genisys (2015), Louisa Clark in the romance film Me Before You (2016) and (2019). Time magazine named her one of the in 2019.

Early life and Family

Johnson was born on 9 March 1986 in Westminster, London and grew up in Berkshire and Oxfordshire. Her father is a theatre sound engineer from Wolverhampton, West Midlands. Her mother was the vice-president of marketing for a global management consultancy. She has no siblings. Her interest in acting was sparked at the age of three after seeing the musical Show Boat, on which her father was working. She was educated at Rye St Antony School, Headington, and at St Edward's School, Oxford, leaving in 2005. She attended Drama Centre London, and graduated in 2009.

Career

Johnson's early work includes two plays at St. Edward's, ten plays at Drama Centre London, the 2009 Company of Angels production of Sense, and two 2009 commercials for . One of her first film roles was for a University of London students' short film. Her first television roles were Saskia Mayer in a 2009 episode of the British soap opera Doctors and Savannah in Syfy's 2010 film Triassic Attack. Screen International magazine named her as one of the "UK Stars of Tomorrow".

In 2010 she was cast as Daenerys Targaryen in the HBO fantasy series Game of Thrones, based on the book series A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin. She was cast after fellow British actress Tamzin Merchant was replaced for undisclosed reasons. In an interview, Johnson stated that she did the funky chicken and robot dance during her audition. The show debuted in April 2011 to positive reviews and was quickly picked up by the network for a second season. She won the 2011 EWwy Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama for her role as Daenerys. In 2013, she was nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series at the 65th Primetime Emmy Awards. She was nominated again in the category in 2015 and 2016.

She has received widespread praise for her portrayal of Daenerys, which traces an arc from frightened girl to empowered woman. Matthew Gilbert of The Boston Globe called her scenes "mesmerizing", adding "Johnson doesn't have a lot of emotional variety to work with as Daenerys, aside from fierce determination, and yet she is riveting." Todd VanDerWerff for The A.V. Club commented on the difficulty of adapting such an evolution from page to screen, but concluded that Clarke "more than seal[s] the deal here. In 2017, she reportedly became one of the highest paid actors on television, potentially earning £2 million per episode of Game of Thrones.

In 2012, she appeared in Spike Island, a film named after the location of The Stone Roses' seminal 1990 gig. From March to April 2013, she played Holly Golightly in a Broadway production of Breakfast at Tiffany's, a role requiring her to perform a nude scene. That year, she also starred in Dom Hemingway alongside Jude Law. Critical reaction to the film was mostly positive, though it was a commercial failure.