British actress Emilia Clarke has been named Sexiest Woman Alive by editors of Esquire magazine.

The Game of Thrones star has posed nude on the cover of the publication to mark her title win, which comes just weeks after she was named Woman of the Year by the publishers behind GQ magazine in September (15).

In Esquire's article, Emilia is described as "Half pal, half dominatrix. Half kid sister, half sexy queen. The movie star who plays, in her real life, an anonymous, funny beauty. This is the gorgeous balance of Emilia Clarke."

The 28 year old, who plays Daenerys Targaryen in the hit fantasy show, also opens up about the nude scenes she has filmed during the five seasons, revealing one particular shoot left her feeling freaked out.

"Once, I had to take a little time out," she says. "I said I needed a cup of tea, had a bit of a cry, and was ready for the next scene."

Emilia also explains how she came close to missing out on the Mother of Dragons role as she is so different to the way Daenerys is described in George R.R. Martin's books, on which the TV show is based.

"My agent told the casting director, 'I know that the breakdown for this character is tall and willowy and blonde. I know she's short and round and brown, but I'd like you to see her.' "

The actress also reveals she had to use the Internet to research the part as she had not read the novels prior to the audition.

"I had two scenes which told me nothing and not very much time in which to read all those books," she confessed. "So I did what every good actor does and Wikipedia'd the living c**p out of it."

Spanish actress Penelope Cruz landed the title of Esquire's Sexiest Woman Alive last year (14), while previous winners have included Angelina Jolie, Charlize Theron and Scarlett Johansson.