How Playing Daenerys Targaryen in GOT ‘Saved Emilia Clarke’s Life

‘Game of Thrones’ star Emilia Clarke recently celebrated her 38th birthday. It’s a wonderful chance to consider how playing Daenerys Targaryen affected her life as she celebrates this milestone.

Clarke opened up about her health issues in a 2021 interview with Variety, saying that playing Daenerys helped her deal with the difficulties of surviving two brain aneurysms and numerous surgeries. She remarked, “I always say that Daenerys saved my life,” highlighting the character’s ability to help her recover from a brain injury.

Clarke explained how she was empowered by adopting Daenerys’ strong persona every season. She was only able to see the world through Daenerys’ eyes during those trying times, which gave her courage and encouragement.

Image Courtesy: People

In a 2021 interview with The New Yorker, Emilia first talked about her health problems, describing how she had her first brain aneurysm in 2011, just after finishing the third season of ‘Game of Thrones’. She spoke eloquently of how working out at a North London gym felt like “an elastic band squeezing my brain.” Despite her best efforts to ignore the discomfort, she finally had to stop and crawl to the bathroom and locker room, where she became “violently, voluminously ill.” As the discomfort increased, she had a gut feeling that something was amiss in her head.

She had her first brain surgery after an MRI revealed that she had a subarachnoid haemorrhage. She stated, “I had no time for brain surgery because I was in the middle of my very busy life.” Clarke, who was only 24 at the time, knew that this surgery would not be the last or even the most difficult one she would undergo.

She underwent another operation in 2013 to successfully treat her second aneurysm, demonstrating her fortitude in the face of adversity.

–Farheen Ali