‘I didn’t want people to think of me as sick', says Emilia Clarke

A successful show has the power to change the lives of those involved with it. Game of Thrones did the same as well,  it changed the fortune of its entire team. Emilia Clarke was one of those, her life changed completely over a decade. Clarke played the character of Daenerys Targaryen on the show which turned out to be one of the most famous characters of all time. She recently spoke to The Guardian about what she went through during the show and her life post it. Read on!

When asked about if her illness changed her life, Clarke responded:

“I’m at the point where I definitely think of the brain hemorrhage as a good thing, because I was never destined to be the ‘young actor goes off the rails’ type, up and down the gossip columns. And having a brain hemorrhage that coincided precisely with the beginning of my career and the beginning of a show that became something quite meaty, it gave me a perspective that I wouldn’t have had otherwise.”

Clarke had lost her father in 2016, spoke about its impact as well “I’m quite a resilient human being, so a parent dying and brain hemorrhages coinciding with success and people following you in the street and getting stalkers – you’re just, like, ‘Well let’s try and make something sensible of it.’”

Clarke had shocked the fans of Game of Thrones a few months ago when she revealed that she was suffering from a life-threatening illness during the early stages of the show. On being asked about it she said she didn’t want anyone to think of her as a sick person.

“Well, you know, then. You know the worries. That people will think your soul, your movement, your voice, who you were,” was damaged. “It was nerve-racking to share it, to be honest. It always is, when you make yourself vulnerable.” She waited so long to talk about it, because, “I didn’t want people to think of me as… sick.”

Emilia Clarke was recently seen in the movie “Last Christmas” which turned out to be a Box Office hit. She spoke about how exhausted she felt after Thrones’ run had ended. She said:

“So, bloated and exhausted I went away for two weeks with my best girlfriend, [The Good Fight star] Rose Leslie, and it was in this retreat in India that I suddenly got it. This is what stopping feels like. And I was able to finally… be kind to myself.”

After all that she had to go through, the kind of performance that Emilia Clarke gave for Game of Thrones seems unbelievable. Let us know your views in the comments section!

Humility is a virtue possessed by few. Even though Game of Thrones reached great heights, the show’s cast was always humble to their roots. They have won the admiration and respect of fans all over the world due to their down-to-earth nature. For example, Jason Momoa reached out to a young Aquaman fan battling cancer last year. Kristian Nairn (Hodor) talked to Digital Spy about the show’s success and praised his co-stars.

He said, “It didn’t happen overnight, and I think for us that was a good thing. I mean it was always immensely popular, I just think as the seasons went on it moved from a really amazing TV show into a kind of phenomenon. It sort of turned into that thing that everyone talks about, people say over the watercooler at work. “

“It’s crazy, because every TV show you watch these days, every single TV show or movie, they all reference Game of Thrones. It always blows me away. I watch a show I love and there’s a reference to Hodor, there’s a reference to Khaleesi. It’s become such a huge part of the public psyche. I don’t think we ever dreamed before season one was out that that would happen. It still happens!”

“It kind of grew, it really doubled per season. But we grew into it, which made it kind of easy. The cast was really down to Earth. I can say hand on heart we’re all really down to Earth. I think that’s a really nice thing. Just the whole Hollywood thing, we’re all kind of aware of that… Game of Thrones is so brutal and real. It’s important to keep it real.”

Have you ever met a Game of Thrones star in real? Tell us about your experience in the comments below!

Game of Thrones was an enchanting journey that lasted for nearly a decade. Some of the show’s cast was very young when the show began. They sort of grew up with the show, like Maisie Williams, Sophie Turner and Isaac Hempstead-Wright. Stardom can be a bit scary when you are young. Especially for someone as studious as Isaac Hempstead-Wright. He revealed about his nervousness in an interview with Digital Spy.

Isaac (Bran) said, “It was actually a little bit intimidating. I remember seeing the show go interstellar. Especially when you’re separate from it a bit [Bran was off-screen during season five], you really just see how huge it is when you’re not in the midst of the whole thing.”

“I really think season five was when it had its meteoric rise. So coming back into season six – and I hadn’t acted for a year; I’d been doing my GCSEs – coming back in was kind of like, ‘Argh! I’ve forgotten how to act!’”

He continued, “I think also there had been a lot of bonds forged in that season, and a lot of people had grown up. I’d kind of grown-up, but I had that key year of being 15, 16 away from it. So it was a weird one to come back to. But after a couple of days, it was business as usual.”

Did you ever find your job to be intimidating? Talk to us in the comments below!

Game of Thrones ended more than one and a half years ago. It was a beautiful journey for both the fans and the crew that lasted for a decade. The fantastical series still holds the record for the most number of Emmy Awards won. On the occasion of New Year, the cast of the show came together for an interview with Digital Spy. They shared their experience while shooting for the fantasy epic. Gwendoline Christie (Brienne) and Kristian Nairn (Hodor) talked about how they were cast for their roles.

Gwendoline recalled, “I immediately rang my agent and said, ‘I want to do this’. My agent said, ‘What are you talking about? I’d never ever put you up for this. She’s ugly, her nose is broken, her teeth are broken and you’ll need to use a sword’.”

Nairn remembered, “I was a first-time actor. I was glad I didn’t know anything about the show at the time. Because if I had I would’ve realised what a huge audition I was going for. I had no idea what Game of Thrones was. I had auditioned for a part in another movie called Hot Fuzz, and I didn’t get the part. It was the casting director Nina Gold who remembered me – she called me in for this audition. I didn’t know it at the time, but when you’re called for an audition, that’s really in your favour.”

What are your best memories from the show? Talk to us in the comments below!