Emilia Clarke has once again reflected on the serious health battle she faced during the early years of “Game of Thrones.” The actress survived two brain aneurysms while filming the HBO series and later underwent multiple surgeries during recovery. While discussing the experience with Elizabeth Day’s “How To Fail” podcast, Clarke admitted there were moments where she felt she was “meant to die” following the medical emergencies.
Emilia Clarke opens up after near-fatal brain aneurysms
Emilia Clarke suffered her first brain aneurysm in 2011 shortly after finishing work on the first season of “Game of Thrones.” The actress later revealed the medical emergency happened after a workout session at a gym in London while she was still adjusting to the sudden success of the HBO series.
A second aneurysm followed in 2013 and required another surgery. While speaking about the recovery process in previous interviews, Clarke admitted there were moments when she genuinely thought she would not survive.
“When you have a brain injury, you move around in the world, and for me, what happened after the first and specifically after the second, I was just convinced that I had cheated death and I was meant to die, and that every day that’s all I could think about,” Clarke stated.
“A bit of my brain that actually died,” the 39-year-old once shared with CBS Sunday Morning while discussing the aftermath of the surgeries. Clarke also said memory loss became one of the hardest parts of recovery. At one stage, she briefly struggled to remember her own name after surgery, something she later described as frightening.
The British star also admitted she emotionally “shut down” following the health scares and continued dealing with fear long after returning to work. In another interview, Clarke said recurring headaches often left her worried that something serious had happened again.
Despite everything happening behind the scenes, Clarke continued filming “Game of Thrones.” She also did not publicly reveal the aneurysms until 2019 through a personal essay, “A Battle for My Life,” discussing the experience in detail.
Since then, Clarke has continued speaking openly about the recovery process. She later launched SameYou, a charity focused on helping young adults recovering from brain injuries and strokes.
Originally reported by Shreya Jha for Reality Tea
