Emilia Clarke, best known for her role in Game of Thrones, has shared that she is missing a significant portion of her brain due to two aneurysms she experienced.
Though Game of Thrones concluded five years ago, it continues to be a topic of discussion even today.
This ongoing interest is partly due to the performances of its actors, including Clarke, who portrayed Daenerys Targaryen.
Clarke was a part of the HBO series from the beginning to the conclusion and is widely celebrated as one of its standout characters.
However, away from the spotlight, Clarke faced severe health challenges in 2011 and 2013.
She endured two ‘excruciating’ brain aneurysms but was fortunate to survive.
The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke in the US defines a brain aneurysm as ‘a weak or thin spot on an artery in the brain that balloons or bulges out and fills with blood’.
Such a condition can lead to severe health issues, including stroke, brain damage, or even death.
Discussing her ordeal with brain aneurysms, Clarke shared with BBC’s Sunday Morning in 2022: “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.”
She added: “I am in the really, really, really small minority of people that can survive that.”
At 37, Clarke reflected on seeing a scan of her brain from that period.
She remarked: “There’s quite a bit missing, which always makes me laugh.”
She continued: “Because strokes, basically, as soon as any part of your brain doesn’t get blood for a second, it’s gone.”
“And so the blood finds a different route to get around but then whatever bit it’s missing is therefore gone.”
In another interview, Clarke recounted the ‘excruciating pain’ she endured from her brain injuries and her fear of losing her role in Game of Thrones.
She experienced symptoms like repeated vomiting and struggled to remain conscious and retain her mental faculties.
Clarke explained to Big Issue: “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.”
“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?’”