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.”
However, behind the fantasy series’ massive success, the actress was quietly fighting for her life.
Years after first revealing she suffered two brain hemorrhages during the show’s run, Clarke is now opening up about 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 finishing the first season of “Game of Thrones,” when her life changed almost overnight.
The actress explained on the “How To Fail with Elizabeth Day” podcast that she had been under intense stress as her career suddenly exploded following the HBO series’ breakout success.
Not long afterward, Clarke collapsed while exercising at a London gym. “The closest thing to describe it is imagine an elastic band just snapping around your brain,” she said, adding, “This insane pressure.”
The actress recalled crawling to the bathroom while in agonizing pain before realizing the situation was far more serious than she initially thought.
“In that moment, I knew I was being brain damaged,” Clarke admitted. At the time, she said she desperately tried to stay 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 arrive.
Clarke Faced Another Emergency During Broadway Run
Years later, Emilia Clarke suffered a second aneurysm while living in New York and performing in a Broadway production.
Doctors had been closely monitoring the aneurysm after discovering it during treatment for the first hemorrhage. However, Clarke explained that the surgery meant to repair the issue went terribly wrong.
“My parents were waiting for me, and the doctors would come down every half an hour and say, ‘We think she’s going to die,’” the “Me Before You” star recalled.
The second hemorrhage affected her emotionally in a way the first one had not. “The biggest thing that happened to me with the second brain hemorrhage was I shut down emotionally,” she admitted.
Clarke described becoming deeply disconnected from the outside world while struggling with the invisible emotional effects of her brain injury.
“I just didn’t want anyone to know,” she said. The actress also became hyperaware of every headache afterward, constantly fearing another 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 she viewed her life.
“I was just convinced that I had cheated death and I was meant to die. Every day, that’s all I could think about,” Clarke said.
The 39-year-old explained that doctors initially struggled to understand what was happening because of her age, even questioning whether drugs could have been involved.
Eventually, a nurse recommended 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 continuing her work on “Game of Thrones.”
“I was so ashamed that this thing had happened and that the people who had employed me might see me as weak or see me as something that could be broken,” Clarke explained.
Although she informed the showrunners, David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, about the hemorrhage, Clarke kept the experience largely hidden from the public at the time.
Even while promoting one of television’s biggest shows, Emilia Clarke said fear consumed her.
Shortly after one of her surgeries, the “Last Christmas” actress attended San Diego Comic-Con to help promote “Game of Thrones.”
Looking back, Clarke admitted her mindset at the time was deeply dark. “If I’m going to die, I’ll do it on live TV,” she remembered thinking. Despite the overwhelming fear,
Clarke said, per PEOPLE, continuing to work became one of the only things helping her emotionally survive.
“Without my work, I don’t know what I would have done,” she admitted. The Emmy award winner also confessed that she was extremely harsh on herself during recovery and struggled to show herself compassion.
“I did not take care of myself. I did not give myself any grace. Everything was like, ‘You failed you,’” Clarke shared. Over time, however, she slowly began changing the way she viewed both 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 struggling with recovery and isolation.
“One of the biggest things I felt with a brain injury was profoundly alone,” Clarke previously told the Big Issue in 2024, adding, “That is what we’re trying to overcome.”
She said her understanding of what she endured has evolved significantly over the years.
Clarke also reflected emotionally on how deeply “Game of Thrones” remains tied to that chapter of her life.
“It was lightning in a bottle. That was my youth. ” Clarke said on the podcast.
