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Emilia Clarke Opens Up About Feeling “Profoundly Alone” Following Her Two Brain Injuries
Emilia Clarke Opens Up About Feeling “Profoundly Alone” Following Her Two Brain Injuries
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Emilia Clarke Opens Up About Feeling “Profoundly Alone” Following Her Two Brain Injuries

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Emilia Clarke revealed she thought she would be fired from Game Of Thrones after she suffered a brain injury.

The 37-year-old actress, who famously played Daenerys Targaryen on the hit HBO show, shared that after her first injury—which occurred in 2011 in between filming the first and second season and required surgery—she feared that she would be dropped from the series.

Highlights
  • Emilia Clarke feared she would be fired from Game of Thrones after suffering a brain injury in 2011.
  • She underwent surgery for a subarachnoid hemorrhage, a type of stroke, in 2011, and another brain aneurysm in 2013.
  • The actress felt profoundly lonely and feared that she might never act again due to her condition.

“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,” Emilia said during an interview with theBig Issue published on Monday (June 10).

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    Image credits: emilia_clarke

    “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?’”

    The hemorrhage reportedly took place while she was working out in a gym in north London.

    The Me Before Youstar explained that she was back at work within weeks of her first brain bleed and feared that she was going to die of another hemorrhage on set.

    “Well, if I’m going to die, I better die on live TV,” she recalled thinking.

    In 2011, the actress was rushed to the hospital for urgent surgery for a subarachnoid hemorrhage, a type of stroke that one-third of patients can die from

    Image credits: HBO

    Image credits: CBS This Morning

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    In 2013, Emilia suffered another brain aneurysm and underwent surgery again, whichresulted in her losing “quite a bit” of her brain in the procedure.

    “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 explained.

    “I am in the really, really, really small minority of people that can survive that.”

    “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?'” said the 37-year-old

    Image credits: HBO

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    In theBig Issue interview, the London-born actress and model opened up about feeling lonely as a result of her condition.

    “Having a chronic condition that diminishes your confidence in this one thing you feel is your reason to live is so debilitating and so lonely.

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    “One of the biggest things I felt with a brain injury was profoundly alone. That is what we’re trying to overcome.”

    In 2013, Emilia suffered a second brain aneurysm and underwent surgery once more, which resulted in her losing “quite a bit” of her brain

    Image credits: emilia_clarke

    The London-born star founded the charity SameYou to develop better mental health recovery treatment for survivors of brain injuries, raise awareness, and advocate for change

    Image credits: CBS This Morning

    At one particularly dark point in her life, Emilia felt she “couldn’t carry on” and asked medical staff to let her die because she thought she would never act again.

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    Overcoming this difficult time has given her a “superpower,” she says.

    She and her mother founded their charity, SameYou, in 2019 to develop better mental health recovery treatment for survivors of brain injuries, raise awareness, and advocate for change.

    People lamented Emilia’s health issues and wished her “the best of health going forward”

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    Marina Urman

    Marina Urman

    Writer, Entertainment News Writer

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    With a degree in social science and a love for culture, I approach entertainment journalism at Bored Panda with a research-driven mindset. I write about celebrity news, Hollywood highlights, and viral stories that spark curiosity worldwide. My work has reached millions of readers and is recognized for balancing accuracy with an engaging voice. I believe that pop culture isn’t just entertainment, it reflects the social conversations shaping our time.

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    Marina Urman

    Marina Urman

    Writer, Entertainment News Writer

    With a degree in social science and a love for culture, I approach entertainment journalism at Bored Panda with a research-driven mindset. I write about celebrity news, Hollywood highlights, and viral stories that spark curiosity worldwide. My work has reached millions of readers and is recognized for balancing accuracy with an engaging voice. I believe that pop culture isn’t just entertainment, it reflects the social conversations shaping our time.

    What do you think ?
    Gavin Johnson
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Anyone who thinks an actress or indeed actor is ‘too big’ to be dropped or that they can’t be replaced is deluded. Big production companies will drop you in heartbeat if they think you can’t match the filming schedule or the pressure of long days in inhospitable environments. She knows the business very well and her fears were justified, glad she weathered those storms and came through, I bet it was a tough time.

    Beak Hookage
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    You're entirely correct. Ed Norton got dropped as the Hulk (despite being a great actor) because he was deemed too difficult to work with. Katie Holmes was dropped from the Nolan Batman movies because she got pregnant and they apparently couldn't shoot around it. If you inconvenience the higher ups enough, for whatever reason, you're expendable.

    Load More Replies...
    Beak Hookage
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    God that would be terrifying. Poor thing.

    Gavin Johnson
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Anyone who thinks an actress or indeed actor is ‘too big’ to be dropped or that they can’t be replaced is deluded. Big production companies will drop you in heartbeat if they think you can’t match the filming schedule or the pressure of long days in inhospitable environments. She knows the business very well and her fears were justified, glad she weathered those storms and came through, I bet it was a tough time.

    Beak Hookage
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    You're entirely correct. Ed Norton got dropped as the Hulk (despite being a great actor) because he was deemed too difficult to work with. Katie Holmes was dropped from the Nolan Batman movies because she got pregnant and they apparently couldn't shoot around it. If you inconvenience the higher ups enough, for whatever reason, you're expendable.

    Load More Replies...
    Beak Hookage
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    God that would be terrifying. Poor thing.

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