She’s fearless when it comes to taming dragons, but Emilia Clarke is a tad ‘petrified’ when it comes to changing her face with injectables. The Game of Thrones actress recently opened up to Elle UK about her outlook on all things from beauty and botox to aging in Hollywood.

“I work in an industry where I’ve got to move my face, and I’ve got to be expressive, and you can’t light filler. You just can’t light it,” the Clinique ambassador tells Elle UK. “It doesn’t look right, you look shiny and strange. If my job is telling me that I need to have anything more than possibly a bit of botox when I’m 45 or whatever, then I’ll stop doing the job.”

That said, just because the 34-year-old actress is ‘petrified’ of changing her face with botox, fillers or any crazy procedures at the moment, she’s still “allowing myself room to change my mind” as she gets older.

For now though, Clarke is prepared to clap back at anyone suggesting she’s in need of of a little plumping or puckering. In fact, she’s already had quite the interesting run in with a pushy esthetician.

“I once had a facialist who told me I needed fillers and I showed her the door. I was literally just like, ‘get out,’” the Last Christmas star told the outlet. “Her exact words were, ‘Then, you can have your face back.’ At that point I was 28.”

Clarke’s view on aging gracefully stems largely from her mother, who is “incredibly beautiful” and has never had any work done. “I look to women and actors who are older than me who are f—king beautiful and I think what your skin does as you age is elegant,” says Clarke.

But her view on aging also stems from being proud of the life she’s lived — and she’ll take the forehead lines that come with it! “At 34, I am wiser, more intelligent, I’ve had more experiences, I’ve done all this stuff and I’m proud of that. You can only do that because you are the age you age … So, if my face is gonna reflect the time that I’ve spent on this earth, I’m down for that,” she tells Elle UK.

The Critics’ Choice nominee has had this positive outlook on aging for quite some time. In fact, it’s what landed her a spot as Clinique’s first ever Global Ambassador. “We were drawn to Emilia because she is optimistic, happy in her skin and embodies a modern multi-faceted woman who is constantly evolving along with her skin care needs,” said global brand president Jane Lauder in a January 2020 statement.

This story originally appeared on: US Magazine - Author:Samantha Holender