Emilia Clarke on surviving two brain hemorrhages: Convinced that I had cheated death
Los Angeles, May 15
Actress Emilia Clarke, who is known for playing Daenerys Targaryen in the Game of Thrones, has talked about surviving two brain hemorrhages during her time on the fantasy drama show, which left her feeling that she had "cheated death."
She shared that after her second brain hemorrhage, she became convinced she was "meant to die," during an appearance on the How To Fail with Elizabeth Day podcast.
The 39-year-old actress said: "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 recalled suffering her first brain hemorrhage shortly after wrapping the show's first season, reports people.com.
She said she had been stressed following the sudden changes in her life and career when she collapsed during a workout at a London gym.
"The closest thing to describe it is imagine an elastic band just snapping around your brain," she said.
"This insane pressure."
The actress recalled crawling to the bathroom and vomiting from the pain before realizing something was seriously wrong.
"In that moment, I knew I was being brain-damaged," she said.
Clarke said she repeatedly reminded herself she was "an actor" while waiting for help because she had just landed her dream job and desperately wanted to hold onto it.
According to Clarke, doctors initially struggled to identify what was happening and assumed drugs could be involved because she was young. She was later transferred to a specialist hospital after a nurse suggested she receive a brain scan.
The actress said she spent the early weeks after the hemorrhage focused on convincing the show executives and the show's creators that she would recover in time to continue working.
"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 said.
Clarke later suffered a second aneurysm while living in New York and performing in a Broadway play. Doctors had been monitoring the aneurysm through regular scans after spotting it during treatment for the first hemorrhage.
She said the surgery to repair it went wrong, forcing doctors to perform emergency brain surgery.
"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,' " Clarke recalled.
Following the second hemorrhage, Clarke said she struggled emotionally in ways she had not after the first.
"The biggest thing that happened to me with the second brain hemorrhage was I shut down emotionally," she said.
Clarke said she became consumed with fear anytime she experienced a headache afterward, worrying another hemorrhage was happening.
While promoting Game of Thrones at San Diego Comic-Con shortly after one of her surgeries, Clarke remembered thinking, "'If I'm going to die, I'll do it on live TV.'"
Still, Clarke said continuing to work ultimately helped her survive emotionally.
"Without my work, I don't know what I would have done," she said.
Clarke also revealed on the podcast that she did not allow herself much grace during recovery because she viewed the experience as a personal failure.
— IANS
Reader Comments
This is so powerful. I remember watching Game of Thrones and never knowing she was going through this. It's a reminder that mental health awareness is just as important as physical recovery. In India, we often ignore these things. Good on her for speaking out and for the NHS--our own healthcare system needs that kind of urgency.
Yeh toh bahut scary hai yaar. Imagine being on a hit show and dealing with something so fatal. I've had minor migraines and they're bad enough. Emilia's courage is on another level. But I also have to say--our Indian film industry needs to have better health support for actors too. We don't hear about such stories here often.
Truly humbling. Coming from Canada, I have great respect for NHS and their care for her. But the emotional toll she describes--that feeling of being "broken"--is universal. As someone who works in mental health, I hope this encourages more people everywhere, including in India, to talk about their struggles without shame.
I was a huge GoT fan and always wondered how she managed those intense scenes. Now I know. It's a lesson in resilience for all of us in India--chai-pani, family, and work can overwhelm us, but look at Emilia. She turned her pain into purpose. Respect. 🫡
It's heartbreaking that she felt ashamed and weak. In India, we have this culture of 'just power through' which can be dangerous. Her story should remind us that medical emergencies are not failures. Also, how she said 'if I'm
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