After two brain surgeries during “Game of Thrones,” Emilia Clarke struggled with daily fear of death.
Emilia Clarke has spoken again about the time after her two brain operations. In the podcast “How To Fail with Elizabeth Day,” the former “Game of Thrones” actress described how psychologically stressful the procedures were – even years later.
“I thought about death every day”
Clarke said in the talk that after the operations she didn’t feel like she had escaped the worst. Instead of relief, what remained was fear. “I was simply convinced that I had escaped death and was supposed to die,” the 39-year-old continued. The thought stayed with her constantly: “It was this feeling as if I shouldn’t be here.”
She withdrew emotionally, especially after the second operation. She saw her own body as the cause of the collapse. Looking back, Emilia Clarke said she didn’t feel much compassion for herself.
Fear of another cerebral hemorrhage
Even everyday symptoms allegedly caused her to panic. A headache immediately raised concerns about another cerebral hemorrhage. During a promo session for “Game of Thrones” she even thought at times: “If I have to die, then at least live on TV,” says Emilia Clarke.
Nevertheless, the work remained important to her. Everyday filming helped her not to completely lose her emotional grip. “Without my work, I don’t know what I would have done,” Clarke said on the podcast.
Here is the entire podcast conversation with Emilia Clarke:
Brain aneurysm during “Game of Thrones”
Emilia Clarke became known for her role as Daenerys Targaryen in the fantasy series “Game of Thrones,” which ran between 2011 and 2019. Shortly after filming the first season, she was diagnosed with a brain aneurysm – a bulge in an artery in the brain. After an initial operation, she returned to the set a few weeks later.
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In 2013, she had to undergo another emergency operation while in New York. Clarke spoke publicly about her illness for the first time in 2019.
In the same year she founded the organization SameYou together with her mother Jennifer. The initiative supports people who live with psychological and physical consequences after brain injuries.
