Emilia Clarke says surviving haemorrhage was ‘remarkable’ as large part of brain is ‘dead’
Emilia Clarke, 35, has opened up about suffering two brain haemorrhages in a new interview. The Game Of Thrones actress had a subarachnoid haemorrhage caused by a ruptured aneurysm in 2011 and then suffered a second aneurysm in 2013.
Appearing on BBC One’s Sunday Morning, Emilia said: “I had a couple of brain haemorrhages and you gain a lot of perspective and it puts your head in a different place when dealing with the kind of juggernaut of being on a successful show.”
Explaining her ordeal, Emilia recalled: “It was just the most excruciating pain, huge vomiting, trying to regain consciousness.
“I kept asking myself all these questions, I kept hilariously saying lines from the show in my head because I knew for some reason that If you are throwing up and you have a headache then that’s not good for your brain.”
Reflecting on the horrifying experience, Emilia says it was “helpful” to have Game Of Thrones to “sweep her up” and give her a “purpose”.
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On the status of her health now, she continued: “The amount of my brain that is now useable, it is remarkable that I am able to speak sometimes articulately or live my life completely normally with absolutely no repercussions.
“I am in the really, really small minority of people that can survive that.”
Presenter Sophie Raworth then asked the actress whether she had seen a scan of her brain, she replied: “Yes, and there is quite a bit missing, which always makes me laugh.
“It’s because strokes, basically, as soon as any part of your brain doesn’t get blood for a second, it is dead, it’s gone.
“So the blood finds a different route to get around but whatever bit is missing is therefore gone. It just shows how little of our brains we actually use!”
Following an incredible recovery, the Daenerys Targaryen star is now able to perform a two and a half hour play every night and “not forget a line”.
After she had her first operation aged 22, Emilia was suffering from aphasia as a result of the trauma caused to her brain.
Writing for The New Yorker in 2019, Emilia admitted that in the worst moments, she wanted to “pull the plug”.
She penned: “My job – my entire dream of what my life would be – centred on language, on communication. Without that, I was lost.”
Luckily, the condition passed over the next week and left the hospital one month after being admitted.
Just a few weeks later, Emilia was back on set filming season two of Game Of Thrones.
Emilia is currently playing Nina in The Seagull at the Harold Pinter Theatre in London’s West End.
The play, by Anya Reiss, is a 21st century modernisation of Anton Chekhov’s 1896 comedy.
Her run began in June and Emilia is set to play the role until September 10.
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