Emilia Clarke, of “Game of Thrones,” on Surviving Two Life-Threatening Aneurysms

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In 2011, just as 'Game of Thrones' was about to become a worldwide phenomenon, Emilia Clarke faced the first of two life-threatening brain aneurysms. Revisit Clarke's essay, from 2019, about the experience.

I grew up in Oxford and rarely gave a thought to my health. Nearly all I thought about was acting. My dad was a sound designer. He worked on productions of “West Side Story” and “Chicago” in the West End. My mother was, and is, a businesswoman, the vice-president of marketing for a global management consultancy. We weren’t wealthy, but my brother and I went to private schools. Our parents, who wanted everything for us, struggled to keep up with the fees.

With time, I got better at acting. I even remembered my lines. But I was hardly a prodigy. When I was ten, my dad took me to an audition in the West End for a production of Neil Simon’s “The Goodbye Girl.” When I got inside, I realized that every girl trying out for this part was singing a song from “Cats.” The only thing I could come up with was an English folk song, “Donkey Riding.” After listening rather patiently, someone asked, “How about something more . . .

I read for “Game of Thrones” in a tiny studio in Soho. Four days later, I got a call. Apparently, the audition hadn’t been a disaster. I was told to fly to Los Angeles in three weeks and read for Benioff and Weiss and the network executives. I started working out intensely to prepare. They flew me business class. I stole all the free tea from the lounge. At the audition, I tried not to look when I spotted another actor––tall, blond, willowy, beautiful––walking by.

That first surgery was what is known as “minimally invasive,” meaning that they did not open up my skull. Rather, using a technique called endovascular coiling, the surgeon introduced a wire into one of the femoral arteries, in the groin; the wire made its way north, around the heart, and to the brain, where they sealed off the aneurysm.

I was sent back to the I.C.U. and, after about a week, the aphasia passed. I was able to speak. I knew my name—all five bits. But I was also aware that there were people in the beds around me who didn’t make it out of the I.C.U. I was continually reminded of just how fortunate I was. One month after being admitted, I left the hospital, longing for a bath and fresh air. I had press interviews to do and, in a matter of weeks, I was scheduled to be back on the set of “Game of Thrones.

On the set, I didn’t miss a beat, but I struggled. Season 2 would be my worst. I didn’t know what Daenerys was doing. If I am truly being honest, every minute of every day I thought I was going to die.

 

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emiliacupdates 🫡

True and Rightful Queen of Seven Kingdoms Daenerys Targaryen The Last Targaryen and Azor Ahai Mother of Dragons Stormborn Khaleesi of Westeros. My Best heroine 💜💞❤️♥️❤️ House of Shit from Winterfell 💩🤢🤢🤮🤮

She is our hero! She survived twice from brain aneurysms and managed to go back to filming GOT and fo press junkets and talk shows and Comic Cons through it all! With grace and dedication! Emilia Clarke is absolutely amazing! We adore her! Love Susan DiGiorgio and family ❤️🙏

versaceschanel

Mother of brain bumps

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