Some actors build their careers like carefully stacked bricks; Emilia Clarke seems to prefer the “let’s jump genres and see what happens” method, and thank goodness for that. Her film work hops from heartfelt romances to explosive blockbusters to smaller character pieces where she slips into a role like she’s trying on a different life. The fun part is watching how she bends each world to fit her.
This ranking celebrates the 10 films where she shines brightest, arranged with the kind of totally serious, deeply scientific scrutiny that absolutely no one asked for. Expect sharp turns, a few surprises and that unmistakable spark she brings even when the movie around her is doing cartwheels.
10. Murder Manual (2020)
This one feels less like a movie and more like someone threw together a Frankenstein’s monster of horror shorts – some murky, some half-baked, and all loosely tethered by a thin premise. Emilia Clarke shows up as “Malu,” but don’t get too attached: her screen time is fleeting and the anthology structure means half a dozen other stories compete for attention. What it offers isn’t suspense so much as a weird sampling platter of horror clichés with some jumpscares, some creepy setups, and a lot of uneven pacing. There are glimmers: a segment or two where the tone almost works, almost pulls you in. But mostly, the film drags under the weight of its own ambition, trying to do too many scares without committing to any. If you’re a hardcore horror-curious sort, maybe it’s a curious watch – otherwise, it’s mostly a “watch at your own risk.”
9. Above Suspicion (2019)
Once the credits roll, this crime thriller hits with a thud: it spins a true-crime story about manipulation, betrayal and violence, and Clarke plays Susan Smith, a woman trapped by circumstance, mistakes, and a grim spiral she could never fully control. The film tries to be gritty and raw, but all too often it stumbles into melodrama, with heavy-handed scenes and emotional beats that feel forced. Her performance lands best when she’s cornered, shaken, questioning every decision – those moments carry real weight. The rest of the time, it feels like the story is chasing shock value, rather than insight. Watching it is an uncomfortable ride, frequently effective, often clumsy. It’s not a proudest-moment pick, but there’s a certain honesty in the mess.
8. Terminator Genisys (2015)
This reboot had the weight of a sci-fi legacy on its shoulders and the result wobbles under it. The time-travel mechanics twist the original Terminator mythology into knots, switching loyalties and memories until what feels familiar turns almost unrecognizable. Clarke as Sarah Connor tries to bring grit and determination – sometimes she hits the mark, especially when she’s cornered and forced to fight. Other times, the film’s bloated plot and overblown set pieces drown the human core under CGI and explosions. There’s a sense of grandeur – big guns, bigger effects, and ambitious stakes – but the story never quite holds together. Still, if you turn off your brain and brace yourself for popcorn-fueled chaos, there’s an odd charm to watching the past and future smash into each other.
7. Spike Island (2012)
Not every pick here needs to be heavy and dramatic – sometimes nostalgia and youthful longing do the trick, and Spike Island leans fully into both. The film chases the dream of a legendary concert and the reckless excitement of teenage rebellion, with Clarke playing Sally “Cinnamon” Harris, a girl caught between growing up and holding on to youth. It’s messy, cliché-ridden and often a bit clumsy, but there’s a pulse there, a kind of teenage ache that hits if you remember what it was like to care so much about music, friends, and the idea of “some night that changes everything.” The story isn’t deep, but the film knows what it is: a fleeting memory, a soundtrack to ambition and the hope that maybe, just maybe, something big happens.
6. Voice from the Stone (2017)
Set in a haunted old villa in post-war Italy, this psychological thriller trades jump-scares for creeping dread and eerie atmosphere, trying to drip uncertainty into every creak of the floorboards. Clarke plays Verena, a nurse hired to care for a mute boy whose grief seems to bleed into the walls and as the story unfolds, boundaries between reality, loss, and something altogether stranger begin to blur. The pacing is slow, the mood heavy; at its best, the film builds a world where silence speaks louder than words. But it also leans on gothic tropes and doesn’t always balance subtlety with clarity and some scenes feel overwritten, others underdeveloped. Still, watching Clarke wander those dim, empty halls with suspicion and fear earns the tension more than most modern horror tries.
5. The Pod Generation (2023)
Set in a near-future New York where parenthood gets outsourced to “womb pods,” this movie tries to imagine what happens when technology lets us skip the messy parts of having a baby, just to ask whether that’s really progress. Emilia Clarke plays Rachel, a woman confronting the weird ethics of detachable pregnancies while trying to keep her humanity intact, even as everything becomes cold and clinical. The film folds romance, social satire and sci-fi dread into a package that sometimes feels as tentative as its ideas about family. It doesn’t always land – pacing drifts, tone wobbles – but there are moments when it bites, when the concept hits a nerve about what we give up in the name of convenience. It’s a flawed but gutsy attempt to ask real questions about the future of connection and reproduction.
4. Last Christmas (2019)
This holiday-themed rom-com wraps a potentially sweet narrative in the clang of Christmas lights and George Michael’s signature tune, giving Clarke’s character Kate a chance to float through awkward jobs, bad luck and questionable life choices before fate hands her a second shot – whether she’s ready or not. The film leans heavily on seasonal tropes, and yes, some moments feel as predictable as snow falling in a Christmas card. Still, Clarke brings a warmth and weariness to Kate that grounds the sugar before it melts into syrup. The supporting cast does its best to charm, and there are scenes where the movie earns its moment of kindness. It won’t rewrite holiday-movie history, but if you’re in the mood for slightly melancholic cheer and a few soft laughs, it might do the trick.
3. Dom Hemingway (2013)
The film barrels into its story like a bruiser kicking down the door: loud, abrasive, unapologetic. It follows a safe-cracker fresh out of prison (Jude Law) trying to claim what he’s owed, while the collateral damage includes his estranged daughter, played by Clarke, who becomes an unwilling witness to chaos. The tone constantly teeters between dark comedy and raw violence, and Clarke’s character Evelyn gets caught in that blur: one moment balancing hope, the next recoiling from betrayal. Dom’s ego and addiction overshadow most relationships, and the result is a portrait of dysfunction, screwed-up loyalties, and unspoken guilt. It’s messy, uncomfortable, and far from pretty, but there’s a grim poetry in its unfiltered take on damage, redemption and moral cost. Clarke doesn’t rescue the story; she helps us see just how deeply broken the world already is.
2. Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018)
This space-western prequel tries hard to land as rebellious fun – all smuggler swagger, heists, fast ships and bad karma – and for a while, it almost catches light. Clarke as Qi’ra brings a cool, quietly haunted energy to the gritty underworld of Corellia, and the tension between ambition and betrayal in her arc adds an interesting shade to what could have been just another blockbuster. The problem is the film feels stitched together under pressure: behind-the-scenes chaos shows in abrupt tone shifts, inflated budget, and a sense that the story’s racing just to hit checkboxes – meet Chewbacca, steal the Millennium Falcon, run the Kessel route. Despite the flaws, there are fun moments: the camaraderie, the danger, the moments when the falcon jumps to lightspeed and you can almost taste the freedom. Clarke doesn’t save the film, but she gives its darker corners a little weight, some gravitas when everything else threatens to feel like fireworks.
1. Me Before You (2016)
Watching this one is a bit like biting into a sugary dessert that tries to pass as something deeper – at times it's sweet, sincere, and emotionally direct; at others, it leans hard on sentimentality and easy resolutions. Clarke plays Louisa (“Lou”), an optimistic young woman whose life takes a radical detour when she becomes caregiver to Will, a man newly paralyzed and fiercely resentful of his new reality. The film explores themes of love, dignity and choice, and Clarke’s Lou is the kind of character who glows with awkward kindness, stubborn cheer and stubborn hope, even when the world treats her as naïve. The romance blossoms slowly, believably, layered with guilt, frustration, grief and tiny hopeful gestures. Even if the ending might leave you divided, her performance finds the kind of emotional honesty that holds the story together. It’s a film you can argue with, but it’s hard not to feel something while watching it.