Emilia Clarke was living what many actors would consider a dream after landing the career-defining role of Daenerys Targaryen on HBO’s “Game of Thrones.”
Nonetheless, behind the fantasy series’ massive success, the actress was quietly fighting for her life.
Years after first revealing she suffered two brain hemorrhages in the course of the show’s run, Clarke is now opening up concerning the terrifying emotional aftermath.
During a candid podcast appearance, the actress admitted she became convinced she was “meant to die” after surviving the near-fatal medical emergencies.
Emilia Clarke reflected on the frightening period shortly after ending the primary season of “Game of Thrones,” when her life modified almost overnight.
The actress explained on the “How To Fail with Elizabeth Day” podcast that she had been under intense stress as her profession suddenly exploded following the HBO series’ breakout success.
Not long afterward, Clarke collapsed while exercising at a London gym. “The closest thing to explain it’s imagine an elastic band just snapping around your brain,” she said, adding, “This insane pressure.”
The actress recalled crawling to the toilet while in agonizing pain before realizing the situation was way more serious than she initially thought.
“In that moment, I knew I used to be being brain damaged,” Clarke admitted. On the time, she said she desperately tried to remain mentally focused because she feared losing the role she had worked so hard to land.
Clarke repeatedly reminded herself she was “an actor” while waiting for medical help to reach.
Clarke Faced One other Emergency During Broadway Run
Years later, Emilia Clarke suffered a second aneurysm while living in Latest York and performing in a Broadway production.
Doctors had been closely monitoring the aneurysm after discovering it during treatment for the primary hemorrhage. Nonetheless, Clarke explained that the surgery meant to repair the difficulty went terribly unsuitable.
“My parents were waiting for me, and the doctors would come down every half an hour and say, ‘We predict she’s going to die,’” the “Me Before You” star recalled.
The second hemorrhage affected her emotionally in a way the primary one had not. “The most important thing that happened to me with the second brain hemorrhage was I shut down emotionally,” she admitted.
Clarke described becoming deeply disconnected from the skin world while fighting the invisible emotional effects of her brain injury.
“I just didn’t want anyone to know,” she said. The actress also became hyperaware of each headache afterward, consistently fearing one other medical emergency was happening.
Emilia Clarke Believed She Had ‘Cheated Death’
Emilia Clarke revealed that surviving not one but two brain hemorrhages completely altered the way in which she viewed her life.
“I used to be just convinced that I had cheated death and I used to be meant to die. Each day, that’s all I could take into consideration,” Clarke said.
The 39-year-old explained that doctors initially struggled to know what was happening due to her age, even questioning whether drugs might have been involved.
Eventually, a nurse really useful a brain scan, which led to Clarke being transferred to a specialist hospital. While recovering, the “Terminator Genisys” star became consumed with proving she was still capable of constant her work on “Game of Thrones.”
“I used to be so ashamed that this thing had happened and that the individuals who had employed me might see me as weak or see me as something that could possibly be broken,” Clarke explained.
Although she informed the showrunners, David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, concerning the hemorrhage, Clarke kept the experience largely hidden from the general public on the time.
Even while promoting certainly one of television’s biggest shows, Emilia Clarke said fear consumed her.
Shortly after certainly one of her surgeries, the “Last Christmas” actress attended San Diego Comic-Con to assist promote “Game of Thrones.”
Looking back, Clarke admitted her mindset on the time was deeply dark. “If I’m going to die, I’ll do it on live TV,” she remembered pondering. Despite the overwhelming fear,
Clarke said, per PEOPLE, continuing to work became certainly one of the one things helping her emotionally survive.
“Without my work, I don’t know what I might have done,” she admitted. The Emmy award winner also confessed that she was extremely harsh on herself during recovery and struggled to point out herself compassion.
“I didn’t deal with myself. I didn’t give myself any grace. All the things was like, ‘You failed you,’” Clarke shared. Over time, nonetheless, she slowly began changing the way in which she viewed each herself and her recovery journey.
Emilia Clarke Now Helps Brain Injury Survivors Through SameYou
Clarke has since turned her painful experience into advocacy work focused on helping others recovering from brain injuries.
In 2019, the actress and her mother, Jennifer, founded SameYou, a charity dedicated to supporting survivors fighting recovery and isolation.
“Considered one of the largest things I felt with a brain injury was profoundly alone,” Clarke previously told the Big Issue in 2024, adding, “That’s what we’re attempting to overcome.”
She said her understanding of what she endured has evolved significantly over time.
Clarke also reflected emotionally on how deeply “Game of Thrones” stays tied to that chapter of her life.
“It was lightning in a bottle. That was my youth. ” Clarke said on the podcast.