Emilia Clarke has admitted she feared being fired from Game of Thrones following suffering a brain injury.
In 2022, the actress revealed she suffered two brain aneurysms – one in 2011 and another in 2013.
Speaking to Big Issue, the 37-year-old confessed that she thought she might lose her job on the hit fantasy show after the health issues.
Emilia told the publication: “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.”
“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?’”
She suffered the brain haemorrhages between filming seasons of Game of Thrones – heading back to work weeks after her first brain injury.
The actress played Daenerys Targaryen on the HBO show from 2011 to 2019 when the series came to an end after eight seasons.
She recalled thinking: “Well, if I’m going to die, I better die on live TV,” – following returning to set to film.
During an appearance on BBC’s Sunday in 2022, Emilia opened up about her health issues saying: “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.”
“I am in the really, really, really small minority of people that can survive that,” Emilia revealed.
The Me Without You star said that brain scans have shown “there’s quite a bit missing”, adding: “Which always makes me laugh.”
“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 explained.
Emilia has since created a charity for brain injury and stroke victims called SameYou.
