Game of Thrones star Emilia Clarke shares early symptom she experienced before brain aneurysm

Emilia Clarke has opened up about the brain aneurysm she suffered shortly after filming the first season of Game of Thrones, revealing the early symptom she experienced before being rushed to hospital.

The British actor became a global name thanks to her role as Daenerys Targaryen in the HBO fantasy series, going from a relatively unknown performer to one of TV’s most recognisable stars almost overnight.

Whilst Clarke’s career was about to change forever, she was also privately dealing with a terrifying medical emergency.

The actor was just 24 when she suffered the first of two aneurysms, later explaining that the ordeal happened at a time when she was trying to process sudden fame, press attention, and the pressure of returning for season two.

Clarke was just 24 when she suffered her first aneurysm (CBS Sunday Morning)

Clarke first shared the full story in a personal essay for The New Yorker back in 2019, explaining that the warning signs began while she was at a gym in Crouch End, north London.

She said she started to feel a ‘bad headache coming on’ while getting ready in the locker room.

Clarke also recalled feeling so exhausted that even putting on her trainers became difficult, but she still attempted to carry on with her workout. Things escalated when her trainer asked her to move into a plank position.

The actor said it felt as though an ‘elastic band were squeezing [her] brain’, adding that she tried to ignore the pain at first. However, it soon became clear that something was seriously wrong.

Clarke managed to make her way to the bathroom, where she became violently ill as the pain worsened.

She later described it as ‘shooting, stabbing, constricting pain’, and said she had a frightening sense that her brain had been damaged.

The star was taken to hospital, where doctors diagnosed her with a subarachnoid haemorrhage, a life-threatening type of stroke caused by bleeding around the brain.

Clarke returned to Game of Thrones after emergency brain surgery (Taylor Hill/Contributor/Getty Images)

She underwent emergency surgery and later developed aphasia, a condition that can affect a person’s ability to speak and understand language.

For Clarke, that meant briefly being unable to remember her own full name, something she has said was especially frightening as an actor whose career depended so heavily on speech and memory.

After recovering, she returned to work on Game of Thrones, but her health struggles were not over.

In 2013, a second aneurysm had grown in size, leading to another operation. That procedure went wrong, causing a bleed and requiring further surgery through her skull.

Clarke has since spoken about the emotional impact of surviving, explaining that it did not immediately feel like a happy ending.

The celebrity has also used her experience to help others, launching SameYou, a charity supporting people recovering from brain injuries and strokes.