Emilia Clarke, best known for her role in Game of Thrones, revealed that she suffered a broken rib while filming intimate scenes in the Cold War–era spy series Ponies.

Speaking to The Wrap, the 39-year-old actress recalled an especially physically demanding day on set. Clarke said she insisted on performing a string of tightly choreographed sex scenes that lasted for hours and involved three male co-stars—an effort that ultimately resulted in a fractured rib.

Her co-star Haley Lu Richardson, 30, confirmed the incident during a joint interview. “Yes, it’s true,” Richardson said. “She’s very petite and sensitive physically, and she ended up with a broken rib.”

In Ponies, Clarke and Richardson play two widows of CIA agents during the Cold War. After the mysterious deaths of their husbands, the women return to Russia and become operatives themselves in a bid to uncover the truth.

Clarke’s character, Bea, is required to seduce a high-ranking intelligence officer, which meant filming multiple intimate scenes with her co-stars. The actress admitted she felt embarrassed having to explain to a doctor that her injury was caused by performing sex scenes “three times.”

Ponies marks Clarke’s first leading role in a television series since Game of Thrones ended in 2019. She revealed that the show’s co-creators, Susanna Fogel and David Iserson, allowed her to choose between the two main roles—Bea and Twila, the latter played by Richardson.

“I really felt like they gave me a voice,” Clarke told The New York Times, noting that such creative freedom is not always common on large television productions. In addition to starring in the series, Clarke also serves as an executive producer, a role she said helped create a supportive and positive working environment throughout filming.

In the same interview, Clarke confirmed she has closed the chapter on fantasy roles after nearly a decade as the “Mother of Dragons.” “You almost certainly won’t see me riding a dragon again—or even standing next to one,” said the four-time Emmy nominee.