Emilia Clarke is reflecting on her harrowing health journey.
Five years after sharing she suffered two brain aneurysms during the early years filming Game of Thrones, the actress gave insight into her mentality during that difficult time, including her fear that she would lose the role of Daenerys Targeryen.
“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 explained in a Big Issue interview published June 10. “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 37-year-old, noted that when her first aneurysm—which led to a stroke and subarachnoid hemorrhage—occurred between filming season one and season two of the show, she was determined to return to work swiftly. And she was back on set within weeks. As she put it, “Well, if I’m going to die, I better die on live TV.”
