Nathalie Emmanuel On Missandeis Romance

Missandei–Grey
Worm 'shippers finally
got a little love when
the couple finally
kissed a few episodes

back. (Compare it to
the completely
loveless matches
between Dany and
Hizdahr, or Sansa and
Ramsay, and a
genuine connection
seems all the more
rare in Westeros or
Essos, although this
one isn't without its
own difficulties.) Actress Nathalie Emmanuel is
excited by the story line, since Missandei in
the books is still a child and consequently has
no love interest. "I like not knowing what's
coming," she enthused. "I have great freedom
in deciding how Missandei is going to respond
to certain situations, and how much emotion
she's going to show. It's really fun to make
that decision for her." Emmanuel chatted with
Vulture about the mini-controversy over the
Khaleesi title, kissing while sick, and opening
up the fighting pits, which we expect to see
take place in Sunday's new episode.
From what I understand, you and Emilia
Clarke like to think of your scenes in terms of
Beyoncé songs. Give me a few examples?
What would the Grey Worm–Missandei love
theme be?
Oooh. That's really hard. I have to think about
that. To be honest with you, it tends to be
"Who runs the world ..." ["Run the World
(Girls)"], and then also I've kind of dedicated
the song "Diva" to Daenerys as a character
because, you know, she's like just a bit of a
boss, isn't she, really? [ Laughs. ]
Have you seen the fan campaign asking
people to stop calling her Khaleesi ? Since
that's an honorific, a title, not her name?
Yeah, a lot of people know her as Khaleesi.
And a lot of people are naming their children
Khaleesi. [ Laughs. ]
But that's like naming your child Princess or
Queen.
Yeah. That is a bit strange. But I think it's a
name that people really respond to, either
because they like the sound of it, or ... People
just do whatever sounds comfortable for them.
She has been a Khaleesi, and it is part of her.
She didn't stop being a Khaleesi when Khal
Drogo died. I personally refer to her as
Daenerys, and then people go, "Who?" And I
say, "Khaleesi," and they go, "Oh,
yeah." [ Laughs. ] Sometimes, after you get a
nickname, it's hard to shake it.
What was it like to shoot the kissing scene
with Jacob Anderson?
Actually, we were both incredibly unwell that
day! [ Laughs. ] Jacob had a really bad cold, I
had a really bad cold, and I remember going
to work that morning going, "Oh no! I'm going
to make Jacob sick! Oh no!" I was feeling
really guilty, and from what he told me, he
was feeling the same way. And then we both
got to work, realized each other was sick, and
then we were like, "Oh, okay. I don't feel bad
now." So that day we were both under the
weather, but it was a really lovely scene to
shoot. You just see Missandei's relief, and
she's so over the moon, and when he tells her
he was afraid of not seeing her again, he's
basically just said, "I love you"! It's just very
overwhelming for her, and out of that relief
and love, she embraces him and kisses him,
and it's a really lovely moment for them.
Story continued below
In the wake of Ser Barristan Selmy's death,
Dany's reversed herself on a major decision:
to reopen the fighting pits, which we'll see in
episode nine. What do you think of that,
given that you're a boxing fan? Do you get
the appeal?
[ Chuckles. ] Okay, I am a boxing fan, but we're
dealing with people who are fighting to the
death, so it's so much more violent and gory,
people losing limbs and whatnot. What I like
about boxing is that it's such a gentleman's
sport. It's a real test of strength and speed.
And the athletes, the fighters use strategy. So
I love when you see a really strong
fighter outbox the other. It's not about the
knockout all the time, although that's there.
I'm definitely a fan of when you see two
different fighters try to box and the outcome of
that. I've been a fan since I was a kid. But I
like a fair fight. I don't like the showboating
and fluffy business. But in respect to the
fighting pits, Missandei is a nonviolent
individual. As you know from the books, the
people of Naath are a very peaceful people.
They don't eat animals. They don't kill
anything. They don't believe in killing or
hurting any living thing. So she has endured a
lot of violence, and is probably a little
defensive because she's had to be. In season
four, we have a scene where Dany is asking
Missandei what Meereen was like , and she
says that she's been many, many times, with
Master Kraznys, so she would have been to
the fighting pits before. And she understands
the way people are there, their culture, their
traditions. So I think if Missandei got to
choose, she probably would not want to sit at
the fighting pits. At the same time, she's lived
and operated in that world, so she accepts
their traditions for what they are. I wouldn't
want to go, though! [ Laughs. ]
Prior to the Grey Worm–Missandei love story,
there was some speculation that Missandei
would take the place of Irri on the show,
since Irri, as with some other characters, is
dead on the show but alive in the books.
Oh! You're talking about the lesbian
masturbation scene, right? When they become
lovers in the books? Dany starts masturbating
and her handmaiden takes over? That's the
first time she felt aroused sexually in any way
since Khal Drogo's death. Right. Yeah. I think
a lot of people would be happy to see that.
[ Laughs. ] But I don't think that's going to
happen! I personally don't think it needs to
happen.
Dany has three dragons. If you could have
one, which would you pick for Missandei?
The most tame one! I'm really not sure if any
of them are tame right now, but if Missandei
could ride a dragon, I would like the most
docile one. [ Laughs. ] Missandei's a pretty
intuitive girl, so maybe she could imprint on
one of them. That would be really cool!