Game of Thrones star Emilia Clarke recently shared that she was scared of losing her job playing Daenerys Targaryen, after undergoing a serious health scare in the early seasons of the show.
According to Variety, Clarke revealed in an interview with the Big Issue that she had suffered two brain aneurysms in the course of shooting Game of Thrones, that required two surgical procedures. The first aneurysm occurred in 2011, in between the first and second season. Clarke, who played Daenerys Targaryen for eight seasons on the show, was understandably concerned about her future on Game of Thrones after needing surgery to deal with the first aneurysm. “When you have a brain injury, because it alters your sense of self on such a dramatic level, all of the insecurities you have going into the workplace quadruple overnight,” Clarke said. “The first fear we all had was: ‘Oh my God, am I going to get fired? Am I going to get fired because they think I’m not capable of completing the job?” She also revealed that she was in fear of another aneurysm occurring on set adding, “Well, if I’m going to die, I better die on live TV.”
Clarke would unfortunately suffer another aneurysm in 2013, which would require yet another surgery. Due to the nature of the surgery, Clarke explained that she had lost functionality in parts of her brain. Despite the rarity of surviving such a situation, Clarke was able to pull through and has been able to continue working at a high level. However, Clarke maintains it’s a miracle she is able to continue on as an actor and explains how lucky she is to live life normally. “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.”
Clarke Founded a Charity to Help Brain Injury Survivors
After her bouts with brain aneurysms, Clarke has also started the charity SameYou, which is designed to help those who have suffered aneurysms in their recovery and maintaining positive mental health. “Having a chronic condition that diminishes your confidence in this one thing you feel is your reason to live is so debilitating and so lonely,” Clarke said. “One of the biggest things I felt with a brain injury was profoundly alone. That is what we’re trying to overcome.”
Clarke has achieved a lot in her career since Game of Thrones, which is even more remarkable considering the health issues she has had to overcome. She appeared as Sarah Connor in Terminator Genisys, played Qi’ra in Solo: A Star Wars Story, and was most recently seen as G’iah, the daughter of Talos in Marvel’s Secret Invasion. She was also recently cast in the upcoming animated Netflix film The Twits, an adaptation of one of Roald Dahl’s novels.
Game of Thrones is available to stream on Max.