Emilia Clarke thought Game of Thrones producers would find her “unreliable” after brain hemorrhage

Emilia Clarke is unquestionably one of the most well-known actors from Game of Thrones. The 36-year-old actress, who gained popularity in the HBO epic for her portrayal of Daenerys Targaryen, currently made headlines after appearing in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) series Secret Invasion. However, there was a time when the actress doubted her self-worth, after being struck down with a life-threatening condition.

Emilia Clarke wondered if she had become “unreliable”

Clarke was more afraid of letting the showrunners down than dying despite being hit with subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH), twice. In a recent interview with Harper’s Bazaar, she reminisced, “If I’m being brutally honest, the whole thing made me feel very ashamed, like I was broken. As though the producers must think I’m an unreliable person that they’ve hired.”

Emilia Clarke talks about losing parts of her brain

The hemorrhage has caused parts of her brain to stop functioning. She pondered, “I physically don’t have a lot of my brain,” she continues. “If you look at my brain scans, there are a lot of black parts, and that is where it’s dead. I think what’s left has been forced to be intensified. What’s there has to work so much harder. What is the thing that makes you more than just a body? Your spirit, your soul, your personality?”

“It’s in here,” she says, pointing to her forehead. “And if that fails, you lose trust in yourself. How could I trust my experience? How could I trust that what was happening to me was real? Half my brain is gone. So what is gone with it? I was obsessed with the idea that it was my ability to act. Some might argue that that was correct.”

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