Emilia Clarke expresses gratitude for having survived two brain aneurysms. The life-threatening events happened while she was working on the HBO series Game of Thrones in 2011 and 2013 and she said that she’s thankful for having recovered as much as she has.
Clarke spoke the BBC’s Sunday Moring (as reported by Variety) about the terrifying experience and the role the hit fantasy series played in her recovery.
“It was the most excruciating pain. It was incredibly helpful to have Game of Thrones sweep me up and give me that purpose.”
She first revealed what happened to her in an emotional 2019 essay in the New Yorker she penned herself, and assured the public that she’s much better. Now, ahead of the production of Anton Checkhov’s The Seagull at the Harold Pinter Theater where she’ll star as Nina, Clarke is sharing more details.
“The amount of my brain that is no longer usable — it’s remarkable that I am able to speak, sometimes articulately, and live my life completely normally with absolutely no repercussions. I am in the really, really, really small minority of people that can survive that.”
Fans were in awe at her portrayal of Daenerys Targaryen in GOT after learning how much she went through. Her dreams had just come true after landing the life-changing role and wrapping up the first season. She played a character who would transform over the course of multiple seasons, gaining power and influence, but it was hard for Clarke to manage her health issues.
“There’s quite a bit missing. Which always makes me laugh… Strokes, basically, as soon as any part of your brain doesn’t get blood for a second, it’s gone. So the blood finds a different route to get around, but then whatever bit is missing is therefore gone.”
Clarke has created the charity SameYou for brain injury and stroke victims, an accomplishment she’s very proud of, and has since come to terms with her own health conditions.
“I thought, ‘Well, this is who you are. This is the brain that you have.’ So there’s no point in continually wracking your brains about what might not be there.”
Clarke will star in the MCU’s upcoming Disney Plus series Secret Wars expected some time in 2023.