Emilia Clarke says she kept working through the early years of Game of Thrones without processing the medical emergencies and grief that were changing her life.
The actress revisited that period in an Oct. 9 cover interview with Marie Claire UK, ahead of her 40th birthday on Oct. 23.
Clarke played Daenerys Targaryen throughout the HBO drama’s eight seasons. She kept much of her health history private before sharing her account publicly in 2019.
Her father died of cancer in 2016. Clarke later told Vanity Fair that she was filming Above Suspicion in the United States and had been unable to return in time to say goodbye.
Clarke Says Her Feelings Caught Up With Her After the Show Ended
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Looking back at filming, Clarke described having “zero curiosity” about herself or what she was experiencing. “I was just in shock,” she said, explaining that she “froze” for 10 years.
Her approach had been to keep going. Once the series ended in 2019, she said, feelings she had not addressed became overwhelming. The pandemic followed, compounding an already difficult period.
She now credits time and reflection with helping her connect more readily with people who have experienced brain injuries or bereavement. She also described becoming more willing to raise uncomfortable subjects rather than avoid conflict.
In a separate June interview with HUNGER, Clarke said it was only during the preceding year and a half that she had gained enough distance to understand those experiences. She described reaching acceptance and no longer feeling defined by what had happened to her.
A Second Aneurysm Procedure Led to Emergency Surgery
Clarke’s 2019 essay for The New Yorker described a ruptured aneurysm in February 2011 that caused a subarachnoid hemorrhage. Surgery was followed by temporary aphasia, leaving her unable to recall her name. She subsequently used morphine to manage pain during press interviews.
In 2013, a scan showed that another aneurysm had grown. A procedure to treat it failed and triggered serious bleeding, requiring emergency surgery through her skull. She wrote that surgeons replaced parts of the skull with titanium.
During a May 2026 appearance on How to Fail with Elizabeth Day, Clarke recalled fearing another medical emergency when she developed a headache at San Diego Comic-Con shortly after surgery. She was there to promote the show and still had an interview scheduled, according to TheWrap‘s account of the conversation.
She described struggling to make eye contact after the second crisis and feeling that her body and brain had failed her in ways other people could not see. Even a headache could leave her afraid that another hemorrhage was beginning.
She Founded SameYou to Help People Recover Beyond the Hospital
Clarke and her mother, Jenny, launched SameYou in 2019 to improve access to rehabilitation after brain injury and stroke. The charity works with clinicians, researchers and rehabilitation services on recovery support and training.
In her account on the organization’s website, Clarke described the gap between emergency treatment that saves a person’s life and the continuing care needed afterward. She said speaking publicly could also help others who felt unable to discuss their injuries.
SameYou’s resources include information about recovery at home and its SameChat peer-support program, which connects survivors and loved ones. The charity also gathers accounts of returning to work after brain injury to help inform survivors and employers.
Clarke Is Choosing the People She Wants to Work With
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Clarke told Marie Claire that she once accepted projects without realizing she could decline them. She now places greater importance on enjoying the people she works with, so the experience remains worthwhile even when a production does not succeed.
Her earlier HUNGER interview described another change in how she judged her work. “For a long time, I think I believed that art was only good if it hurt,” she said. “I don’t feel that anymore.”
She pointed to Ponies as a production where her opinions were heard and acted upon. The shoot involved six months of work, learning Russian and producing, but she valued having a stronger voice in the decisions being made.
Her next stage role is Susan Traherne in David Hare’s Plenty, directed by Richard Eyre. The production is scheduled for spring 2027 at London’s Lyttelton Theatre and will mark her National Theatre debut, according to London Theatre.
Asked about her next decade, Clarke told Marie Claire she wants to “take it lightly,” while acknowledging that finding humor requires strength.