Emilia Clarke diet & fitness tips: 'Game of Thrones' star named 'Sexiest Woman Alive' by Esquire magazine

Men's magazine Esquire has announced their pick for this year's Sexiest Woman Alive, and that honor goes to none other than Game of Thrones' Khaleesi herself, Emilia Clarke. The 28-year-old, 5 foot 2 actress did not initially fit the description of Daenerys Targaryen, but she auditioned anyway, and the casting directors chose to give her the role.

Examiner reports that according to Clarke, "My agent told the casting director, 'I know the breakdown for this character is tall, willowy and blonde. [Emilia] is short, round and brown, but I'd like you to see her.'"

Clarke added that the casting directors wanted "someone who could grow before your eyes in one season, who could gather strength and show vulnerability, they wanted the arc..."

While she did not fit the physical description of the Mother of Dragons, Clarke did well with the role and ended up as one of the pivotal characters in the series, which involved a lot of nudity.

Clarke admitted that it was difficult filming her first few scenes, which included full frontal nudity and a rape scene. The actress was 23 at the time.

"Once, I had to take a little time out," Clarke admitted. "I said I needed a cup of tea, had a bit of a cry, and was ready for the next scene."

Clarke isn't one to stick to one massive franchise, however, as she also plays the part of Sarah Connor in the film "Terminator: Genisys." She admitted she had to adjust her diet accordingly, considering it was an action-packed film, Celebrity Health Fitness reports.

"My diet was pretty strict," Clarke said. "I ate very clean … One cup of tea. No sugar, no cream."

The actress added that she had to commit to grueling workouts at the gym, which involved weight training, kickboxing, shooting guns, cardio, and stunt training.

But being Sarah Connor or Daenerys Targaryen does not mean she gets exempted from criticism, especially in Hollywood. Clarke admitted that she once searched herself on Google and unsurprisingly found negative comments about her weight and appearance.

"I remember when everything first kicked off, I Googled myself," the actress recalled during a conversation with Marie Claire. "You just do, it’s instinct. But never again. It just takes that one person who says: 'She’s a fat b----,' and you’re like: 'I’m a fat b----!'"

The criticism came after she turned down the role of Anastasia Steele in 50 Shades of Grey. She told the magazine that she wanted to work with director Sam Taylor-Johnson because the actress admired her, "But there is a huge amount of nudity in the film. I'll never say, 'I'm never doing nudity' because I've already done it, but I thought I might get stuck in a pigeonhole that I would have struggled to get out of."

Clarke seems to have have no problem getting stuck in a pigeonhole, as her upcoming film projects show a rather diverse resume, with the independent psychological thriller Voice from the Stone and 2016 drama, Me Before You.