Emilia Clarke reveals she broke a rib during intimate scenes in ‘Ponies’: 'Three men, in a number of hours'

Emilia Clarke did not expect her most painful moment on set to come during an intimate scene. But while filming ‘Ponies’, the actor says she broke a rib while shooting sex scenes for the Peacock drama, a physically demanding experience that caught her and even her doctor by surprise. Speaking about the role in an interview, Clarke said the injury happened while filming undercover seduction scenes as Bea, a Cold War era widow who targets high-level KGB agents for information. The scenes required long hours, physical strain, and repeated takes. By the end of the day, Clarke realized something was wrong.According to The Wrap, Clarke explained just how intense the shoot became. “Three men, in a number of hours,” she said. “Just keep bringing it — I’m going to sit on this thing, you’re going to bring them in, we’re going to pretend to have sex. I broke a rib that day.”Clarke later had to explain the injury to her doctor. “I had to tell my doctor it was from sex, times three!” Clarke recalled.The actor was quick to clarify that the injury was not severe. “It didn’t like, fully break,” she added. “It just popped out a little bit.”Clarke is no stranger to physically demanding roles, from dragons to sword fights. But this experience stood out for different reasons. The scenes were choreographed, repetitive, and far from glamorous. The physical toll, she said, built up over hours of filming rather than one single moment.‘Ponies’ is streaming now on Peacock and takes place in Moscow in 1977. Bea and Twila work as secretaries at the U.S. embassy until their husbands die in deaths that do not add up. The CIA then pulls them into undercover work, where they use seduction, lies, and nerve to chase answers. The American buddy spy thriller was created by Susanna Fogel and David Iserson and also stars Haley Lu Richardson alongside Clarke. The series premiered on January 15, 2026.Clarke, a four-time Emmy nominee best known for ‘Game of Thrones’, said the role pushed her in unexpected ways. While the espionage drives the plot, she noted that the physical demands of the intimate scenes were among the toughest challenges she faced during production.