Emilia Clarke has opened up about surviving two brain aneurysms in her twenties and the lasting impact they have had on her life. T
he Game of Thrones star revealed she is missing “quite a bit” of her brain after undergoing multiple emergency surgeries.
The 38-year-old described the experience as deeply traumatic, explaining that both aneurysms happened during a crucial period in her career.
Despite the severity of what she went through, Clarke says she now lives a largely normal life.
According to the NHS, a brain aneurysm is a bulge in a blood vessel caused by a weakness in the vessel wall. If it bursts, it can lead to fatal internal bleeding.
Collapsing during season one of Game of Thrones
Clarke’s first aneurysm happened in 2011 while filming the first season of Game of Thrones. She collapsed during a workout and was rushed to hospital, where doctors diagnosed her with a subarachnoid haemorrhage.
She underwent emergency surgery and later experienced temporary aphasia, which affected her ability to speak and process language. At the time, her acting career was only just taking off.
Two years later, in 2013, doctors discovered a second aneurysm during a routine brain scan. That aneurysm later ruptured, forcing Clarke to undergo another major operation.
She survived both incidents, but the impact was permanent. Speaking on BBC Sunday Morning, Clarke explained how much damage her brain sustained.
“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 said.
“I am in the really, really, really small minority of people that can survive that.”
‘There’s quite a bit missing’
Clarke said seeing scans of her brain still surprises her. Rather than fear, she approaches it with humour.
“There’s quite a bit missing, which always makes me laugh,” she said.
“Because strokes, 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.”
She has previously described the pain from the aneurysms as “excruciating,” saying it caused uncontrollable vomiting and constant fear of losing consciousness. She said she was desperately trying to stay alert and keep her brain functioning.
After surgery, which she has described as the worst pain she has ever experienced, Clarke slowly returned to acting. Despite everything, she was determined to continue working.
‘The second one was much harder’
In 2019, Clarke shared unseen hospital photos and spoke openly about her recovery. In an interview with CBS, she admitted the second aneurysm hit her far harder mentally.
“The first time it was difficult, with the second one I found it much harder to stay optimistic,” she said.
“[I coped with it as a] a day to day thing. I definitely went through a period of being… down – putting it mildly.”
She explained that part of her brain had actually died due to a lack of blood flow.
“The second one, there was a bit of my brain that actually died. If a part of your brain doesn’t get blood to it for a minute, it will just no longer work. It’s like you short circuit. So, I had that.”
How Game of Thrones helped save her
Clarke believes her role as Daenerys Targaryen may have helped her survive emotionally. She said the demands of the show forced her to keep going.
“You go on the set and you play a badass character, and you walk through fire, and you speak to hundreds of people,” she said.
“And that became the thing that just saved me from considering my own mortality.”
She has since channelled her experience into helping others. Clarke founded the charity SameYou with her mother to support people recovering from brain injuries.
In 2023, both were appointed MBEs in the New Year Honours for their work. Despite everything she endured, Clarke’s story is one of survival, resilience, and refusing to be defined by trauma.
Featured image credit: Instagram/emilia_clarke & HBO
