Emilia Clarke survived two brain aneurysms during the shooting of ‘Game of Thrones’.
Actor Emilia Clarke, who portrayed the role of Daenerys Targaryen in the HBO series Game of Thrones, recently opened up about the two brain aneurysms she suffered while filming the show.
A brain aneurysm is a bulge or ballooning in a blood vessel caused by a weakness in the blood vessel wall, usually where it branches. In conversation with BBC One‘s Sunday Morning, Ms Clarke revealed that she had survived two brain aneurysms in 2011 and 2013.
The 35-year-old actor said, “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.”
“I am in the really, really, really small minority of people that can survive that,” she added.
Further, speaking about her brain scans, Ms Clarke also went on to reveal that she is “missing” parts of her brain. She explained, “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.”
As per the Independent, Ms Clarke’s memory has not suffered long-term effects. However, she reportedly suffered from aphasia after the aneurysms, because of which, at one point, she was unable to recall her own name. But she has put her own medical troubles behind her and accepted her current health condition.
The 35-year-old said, “I thought, ‘Well, this is who you are. This is the brain that you have.’ So there’s no point in continually wracking your brains about what might not be there.”
In 2019, the Game of Thrones actor even created a charity for brain injury and stroke victims called SameYou.
On the work front, Emilia Clarke told the outlet that she has been confident performing in the two-and-a-half hour production of ‘The Seagull‘ at London’s Harold Pinter Theatre.