Emilia Clarke makes 'Genisys' power play

Emilia Clarke took a huge leap going from her Game of Thrones mother of dragons character to the mother of all rebellions in Terminator Genisys.

Same powerful presence required, very different skill set.

"Let's see, there's driving a bus off a bridge, rolling out in an armored car, firing eight different kinds of weapons," says Clarke. "It's just kicking some general butts, really."

Between Genisys' Sarah Connor and Thrones' Daenerys Targaryen, who has survived five bloody seasons with her three dragons, Clarke could be accurately labeled the Queen of Kicking Butt this summer.

"That's a mantle I'm incredibly happy to take on." says Clarke, 28. "It's great to be such a young girl and have the opportunity to play such strong, powerful women."

Modern combat training was required to portray Connor, who joins forces with the Terminator (Arnold Schwarzenegger) in the franchise reboot.

"Funnily enough, no, I hadn't shot a grenade launcher before this movie," Clarke says.

She shared a munitions trainer with her co-star Jai Courtney (who plays Kyle Reese) and worked her way up to a grenade-filled battle scene.

"It was very real and incredibly fun," says Clarke. "Those blanks are louder than the real thing."

The question is whether Clarke can make the same kind of noise in her first leading role on the big screen as she's made in Thrones.

"She's one (of), if not the biggest reason, people love Game of Thrones," says Erik Davis, managing editor of Fandango.com.

While Peter Travers of Rolling Stone calls Clarke "a dynamo" in Genisys, the film has received a 25% positive rating from critics on aggregate site RottenTomatoes.com. "Clarke brings a coiled energy to the screen, ready to strike, and unfortunately, this Sarah Connor is no Mother of Dragons," writes Mark Olsen of the Los Angeles Times.

Her action cred hasn't been helped by appearing on crutches after a hip injury during the Genisys media blitz. She has given hilarious, presumably untrue explanations for the injury, including breakdancing with Schwarzenegger.

She proudly displays a wacky irreverence, relating tales of serious training sessions gone wrong. Like when she took a joy ride in an armored car on the set.

"I could see all these arms flailing as I desperately tried to wheel this thing around," says Clarke. "It was like MOVE THE OTHER WAY. It got a little silly … I did get quite close to a producer's car."

This self-deprecating humor will be on display in her next screen foray, Me Before You (June 3, 2016). Clarke plays a caregiver who falls for a paralyzed charge (Sam Claflin) — marking a shift from Sarah Connor to Bridget Jones.

"My character is a total klutz, quite funny, gets everything wrong," says Clarke. "She falls over all the time and smashes things."

But for now, it's all war, all the time. Clarke heads back to filming Season 6 of Games of Thrones in September. Then she has penciled in time for two more Terminator installments in 2016 (expected out in 2017 and 2018, respectively).

She's ready to head back to the shooting range.

"This training allowed me, as the only girl, to walk up on set and go, 'Yo, boys this is how it's done,' " says Clarke.