Emilia Clarke Reveals She Suffered From Brain Aneurysms While Filming “Game of Thrones”

Filming “Game Of Thrones” hasn’t been all fun and games for the actors – the emotions are high, especially with this upcoming final season. But when it comes to the Mother of Dragons herself, Emilia Clarke, it was a completely different story… and nearly fatal one.

In a new essay for The New Yorker, “A Battle For My Life,” the actress admits she’s denied health struggles before when asked by reporters, but now she’s ready to open up. She’s revealed that she almost died while filming the HBO series after suffering two brain aneurysms that doctors warned her were potentially fatal. The first came after the first season in 2011, and the second in 2013 after the third season.

But after multiple painful surgeries and long periods of recovery that had her in a dark place, she’s come out the other side better than ever. “I survived… In the years since my second surgery I have healed beyond my most unreasonable hopes,” she writes. “I am now at a hundred percent.”