Posted in: Game Of Thrones, HBO, TV, YouTube | Tagged: emilia clarke, game of thrones, HBO, marvel, Secret Invasion

Game of Thrones: Emilia Clarke Opens Up About Brain Aneurysms Impact

Published Sun, 17 Jul 2022 18:47:15 -0500

Though Game of Thrones star Emilia Clarke is excited about her co-star Kit Harington's plans for a GOT spinoff sequel series (tentatively titled "Snow"), the actress has made it clear that her time in Westeros is over & done with. For Clarke, the future includes joining the MCU with a pretty-much-confirmed role in Disney+ & Marvel Studios' Samuel L. Jackson-starring Secret Invasion. But in the more immediate future, Clarke is making the rounds to promote her production of Anton Chekhov's The Seagull at the Harold Pinter Theater (marking her West End debut). It was during a sitdown with BBC's Sunday Morning when Clarke opened up about her two life-threatening brain aneurysms while still in production on the hit HBO series (first in 2011, and the second in 2013, both requiring long recovery periods). "It was the most excruciating pain," Clarke revealed, going on to explain how the aneurysms impacted her physically and how she used lines from the GOT scripts to help her keep a level of mental focus & clarity. "It was incredibly helpful to have 'Game of Thrones' sweep me up and give me that purpose," she added.

Emilia Clarke as Daenerys Targaryen in Game of Thrones. Image Courtesy of HBO/WarnerMedia

But even though she may be feeling "completely better now," Clarke doesn't mince words when it comes to revealing the serious lasting impact of her health crises. "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. In fact, scans of her brain after the two incidents offered Clarke a better perspective on the damage they caused. "There's quite a bit missing. Which always makes me laugh… Strokes, basically, as soon as any part of your brain doesn't get blood for a second, it's gone. So the blood finds a different route to get around, but then whatever bit is missing is therefore gone," Clarke explained. But while she's come to understand her health condition, it isn't something she allows to define or control her. "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," Clarke added.

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