Actress Emilia Clarke discusses the lack of care she experienced while filming nude scenes on certain productions, contrasting it with the supportive environment on Game of Thrones. She also opens up about surviving two brain aneurysms during the show's run, the resulting survivor's guilt, the loss of her father, and her decision to freeze her eggs. Clarke reflects on her journey from feeling trapped by her fame to eventual gratitude and emotional recovery.
At 39, actress Emilia Clarke is using her platform to speak candidly about two profound aspects of her life: the often precarious safety of performers during intimate filming, and her own near-death health experiences.
In a wide-ranging interview with Variety for their Power Of Women issue, Clarke revealed that while she felt cared for on the set of the HBO fantasy phenomenon Game of Thrones, in which she famously played Daenerys Targaryen and appeared in numerous nude scenes, other jobs left her feeling vulnerable. She described a systemic 'lack of care' that she believes 'could have been prevented with some consideration.
' Clarke was careful not to attribute this to outright abuse of power, instead pointing to a broader cultural negligence. 'I've experienced lack of care on other jobs which I think could have been prevented with some consideration,' she stated. 'I don't want to specifically say. There's just been a number of occasions where I've been like: 'This ain't right.
' And again, it's not through someone abusing power; it's through lack of thinking and care. ' This pervasive feeling of being unsafe on set stands in stark contrast to the praise she had for the Game of Thrones production team, highlighting the critical importance of intentional protocols and respect for actors' boundaries in the industry. These professional concerns, however, were soon eclipsed by a life-threatening medical crisis.
During the peak of her fame while filming Game of Thrones, Clarke suffered two brain aneurysms. The first struck in 2011 when she was just 24, during a workout at the gym. She recalled the terrifying experience on the 'How To Fail' podcast with Elizabeth Day, describing the intense headache and anxiety beforehand. The second aneurysm occurred a few years later, requiring emergency brain surgery.
The actress admitted she kept both conditions secret from HBO and returned to work for Game of Thrones promotional events barely a month after her first surgery, driven by a fear of losing her career.
'I did not take care of myself at all,' she confessed. The trauma left her emotionally shut down and living in constant fear that death would catch up to her. This period forged a deep sense of 'survivor's guilt.
' 'For a number of years, I felt that I had cheated death, and it was coming to get me,' she told The Times. 'I truly felt like I had done something wrong, and I shouldn't be here. ' The compounding grief of her own mortality was soon paired with the devastating loss of her father, Peter, to cancer.
Clarke described her father's death as 'bigger than the brain haemorrhages,' a profoundly isolating experience that made her want to 'shut my front door and sit in my nest.
' She reflected on her naivety upon entering the industry and the shattering series of events that followed. 'I had no understanding of the industry. And then I had this life-threatening brain injury and I was so unwell and I kept thinking I was going to die. And then my dad died and that was bigger than the brain haemorrhages.
' In the aftermath, Clarke made the pragmatic decision to freeze her eggs at age 35, a choice she framed as a 'universal moment' for many women. 'You go through certain universal moments, like I was 35 when I froze my eggs. A lot of other women around that age are freezing their eggs,' she noted, linking it directly to the stress and grief of her health battle and her father's passing. Today, Clarke is in a different place.
After years of therapy and reflection, she has reconciled with her defining role.
'I have gone through every circuitous route to get to the place that I am now, which is finally being able to be very grateful for everything that Game of Thrones did and has given me,' she said. 'I no longer feel trapped in it, or trapped in the result of being in it, I feel just really lucky that it happened to me, even luckier that I've had time to understand what that was, and now I feel firmly on the other side.
' Her journey from survivor to advocate is marked by a dark humor she now uses to process her trauma. 'I also thought it ruined my ability to act, which some people might agree with! ' she quipped about her health struggles. Clarke's story is one of immense resilience, confronting industry-wide safety issues and personal mortality, ultimately finding a hard-won sense of peace and gratitude.
She continues to work, starring in projects like the new TV show 'Ponies,' while advocating for better care for performers and speaking openly about health, grief, and the complexities of moving forward after a near-death experience
Emilia Clarke Game Of Thrones Nude Scenes Set Safety Brain Aneurysm Survivor's Guilt Fertility Egg Freezing Daenerys Targaryen Health
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