Emilia Clarke thought she’d never be able to act again, after her life-threatening brain aneurysms.
The Game Of Thrones star – who plays Daenerys Targaryen on the show – recently revealed she almost died twice after suffering two aneurysms, while filming the fantasy drama.
And, after undergoing surgery, the 32-year-old admits she was ‘deeply paranoid’ she wouldn’t be able to act again.
Could you imagine Westeros without Khaleesi?
Discussing her time in hospital, she explained part of her brain was starved of oxygen for more than a minute during the second aneurysm, in 2013, which caused that section to die – and she feared it was the exact part that allowed her to recall lines and act.
‘So, they [the doctors] literally were looking at the brain and being like, “Well, we think it could be – could be her concentration, it could be her peripheral vision,”’ she said.
‘For a very long time, I thought it was my ability to act…that was a deep paranoia.’
During her appearance on CBS Sunday Morning, Emilia credited returning to the Game Of Thrones set with saving her from the paranoia – as she threw herself into her work in a bid to stop thinking about her health.
‘You go on the set, and you play a badass character, and you walk through fire, and you speak to hundreds of people, and you’re being asked to be – to work as hard as you possibly can,’ she added.
‘And that became the thing that just saved me from considering my own mortality, yeah.’
The actress recently revealed her devastating health problems for the first time in a powerful essay for The New Yorker, explaining the issues started when she felt unwell during a training session, in 2011.
She tried to ignore the pain and continue with the workout, but it became more difficult and she made it to the bathroom before becoming ‘violently, voluminously ill’.
Emilia was immediately rushed to hospital where she underwent a three-hour ‘minimally invasive surgery’ and four days in an intensive care unit.
Unfortunately, her ordeal wasn’t over as a brain scan two years later revealed that a second aneurysm had doubled in size.
After a failed operation – which resulted in the Me Before You star suffering a ‘massive bleed’ – doctors were forced to operate again to save her life.
Following her news, fans rushed to support Emilia, who was left emotional by the all the love.
Taking to Instagram, she later shared a message of thanks to fans, telling them: ‘The response to my story has been overwhelming and deeply and profoundly moving so thank you so much.
‘A million million thank you’s to everyone who has read shared and sent love for my story, it’s a beautiful thing to behold and I can’t quite believe how many of you this has affected,’ she added in the comments.
‘@sameyouorg is ready to hear your stories, how you recovered and what could have made that recovery experience better.
‘By hearing your stories we can build a case for an improved aftercare experience for all in the future…who wouldn’t want that!’
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