Game of Thrones Star Open Up About Aneurysms and Brain Surgery: “It’s Remarkable That I Am Able To Speak”

Game of Thrones star Emilia Clarke is opening up about the impact of her aneurysms and brain surgeries, telling BBC’s Sunday Morning that it’s “remarkable” that she’s able to speak as well as live her life normally. In the interview (via The Sun), Clark explained that her condition and surgeries have left her with parts of her brain that are no longer usable and that her results are not the norm when it comes to the issues she’s dealt with.

“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.”

She added, “I am in the really, really, really small minority of people that can survive that.”

Clarke has been open about her battle with aneurysms, revealing back in 2019 that just after completing the first season of Game of Thrones, she experienced an aneurysm that ended up being life-threatening and requiring brain surgery.

Clarke revealed the health complications in an essay for the New Yorker, noting that, during a workout back in 2011, she “immediately felt as though an elastic band were squeezing [her] brain.” More than just a common headache, the pain caused Clarke to go to the hospital, learning that she suffered a “life-threatening type of stroke, caused by bleeding into the space surrounding the brain.” This type of stroke kills nearly a third of everyone who suffers one.

“I remember being told that I should sign a release form for surgery. Brain surgery? I was in the middle of my very busy life—I had no time for brain surgery,” Clarke wrote. “For the next three hours, surgeons went about repairing my brain. This would not be my last surgery, and it would not be the worst. I was twenty-four years old.”

Clarke would end up having to have an additional surgery a few years later and between the two, the star now has “quite a bit” of her brain missing.

“There’s quite a bit missing,” Clarke said. “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.”

Clarke has since gone on to not only make a complete recovery but has also founded a charity for those dealing with brain injuries and stroke, SameYou.

Photo: Samir Hussein/WireImage