Ahead of Game Of Thrones‘ eighth season (coming on April 14), Emilia Clarke opened up in a New Yorker essay about the health scares that she suffered during the first seasons of the HBO juggernaut. These were not insignificant issues, for she nearly died twice from brain aneurysms. Only after multiple operations, hospitalizations, and tons of unbearable pain did Clarke recover. She excruciatingly detailed how she, at times, didn’t want to live, and she was terrified by losing her ability to speak at times. Somehow, Clarke kept everything under wraps, and as it turns out, not even co-star Lena Headey was fully aware of Clarke’s struggles for an unknown period of time. After Emilia went public with her health scares, the actress who plays Cersei expressed unyielding support for she who will forever be known as the Mother Of Dragons.
“It took me a while to know this woman (there are 64000 of us after all) Not until she spoke to me about her experience did I fully realize the warrior she truly is (MOD for real x209840000) she does really great things for causes that deserve it,” Headey wrote. “She’s kind and determined and funny and aware. #Thursday’s MVP.”
Obviously, this would never happen between their two characters onscreen (although one never knows how the series will end), but it’s remarkable how Clarke “didn’t miss a beat” onset while continuing to suffer from anxiety and fearing that “every minute of every day I thought I was going to die.” Of course, Clarke didn’t pen the essay in the interest of recognition (though for real, she is a “warrior”) but to announce her new charity, Same You, which is geared toward helping those who suffer brain injuries and health issues similar to her own. Visit the organization’s website here.
