"Let Me Die": Emilia Clarke Faced Two Life-Threatening Strokes During "Game of Thrones" Filming

Emilia Clarke confirms she's a queen offscreen too.

Onscreen, Emilia Clarke plays the fiery Daenerys Targaryen, mother of some pretty fierce dragons and a Khaleesi to the Dothraki. She's also an optimist's favourite for taking out the Game of Thrones and ruling Westeros.

But offscreen, that could have all ended prematurely.

In an essay written for the New Yorker, Clarke revealed she'd suffered two life-threatening strokes during the early seasons of Game of Thrones.

It all started, according to Clarke, when she began exercising with a personal trainer to relieve her stress over the role of Daenerys Targaryen. During one session, she recalls feeling like an elastic band was squeezing her brain and knew instantly that something was amiss.

"I'd had an aneurysm, an arterial rupture," Clarke wrote.

"As I later learned, about a third of SAH [subarachnoid haemorrhage] patients die immediately or soon thereafter."

After being rushed to hospital and undergoing brain surgery, Clarke remembered feeling disbelief that this had happened to her given she was just 24-years-old and at the beginning of a big break. She'd only just finished the first season of Game of Thrones.

"In my worst moments, I wanted to pull the plug. I asked the medical staff to let me die," Clarke wrote.

"My job—my entire dream of what my life would be—centered on language, on communication. Without that, I was lost."

But she pushed on, proving she's a Khaleesi in real-life too.

Unfortunately, after she'd finished Season Three of Thrones, doctors discovered she had another aneurysm and they would need to operate on it urgently. After a failed surgery and a month in recovery, Clarke continued on with the show. 

"The [Thrones] fans at Comic-Con are hardcore; you don't want to disappoint them. There were several thousand people in the audience, and, right before we went on to answer questions, I was hit by a horrific headache," Clarke explained.

"I told [my publicist], but she said that a reporter from MTV was waiting for an interview.

"I figured, if I'm going to [die], it might as well be on live television."

But she didn't. In fact, she went on to star in another four seasons of Thrones (the last of which premieres next month) as well as a number of Hollywood movies.

It's safe to say that the world has a newfound appreciation for the actor.

Just when you thought Danaerys Targaryen was a big enough badass, this story of Emilia Clarke is published. I’ve seen what aneurysms can do (unlike Ms. Clarke, my husband’s mother wasn’t so... https://t.co/cJ2MG13mwz

— Lea Salonga (@MsLeaSalonga) March 21, 2019

So much respect to @emiliaclarke for sharing her story, and very grateful she is using her voice to raise awareness for others: https://t.co/Wc6DUrRl6j

— Michelle Buchman (@michelledeidre) March 21, 2019

Season Eight of Game of Thrones drops on Foxtel on 15 April. Expect some serious White Walker-slaying (we hope!) when the Mother of Dragons returns for the final season.

Header Image: HBO