Emilia Clarke says her role as Daenerys helped her through brain trauma

Emilia Clarke opens up about how her role as Daenerys Targaryen on Game of Thrones helped her through a difficult health situation.

While Emilia Clarke is famous for her portrayal of Daenerys Targaryen, she has become so much more throughout the years. She’s an exceptionally strong woman who stands up for other women, and plays a character many idolize. In a recent roundtable discussion with The Hollywood Reporter, Clarke shares how her character, Daenerys, helped her find strength when she needed it most.

Clarke recently shared in a personal piece for The New Yorker that she suffered two brain aneurysms while in the midst of filming Game of Thrones. In doing so, our respect for her grew even more (if that’s even possible).

Now speaking during a Hollywood Reporter roundtable, alongside fellow inspiring actresses, Clarke opened up about what Daenerys taught her about strength and how the character pushed her to feel “awake” after suffering from brain hemorrhages.

Clarke explained many who experience these hemorrhages find themselves so fatigued that they can barely function. Still, Clarke didn’t really have the chance to succumb to that. She had to bring Khaleesi to life and thus focused her time and energy on the character.

Clarke told The Hollywood Reporter:

"“The main thing that happens after you’ve had a brain injury — paralysis and all of that aside — is that you have fatigue, which sounds like a fancy way of saying you’re tired, but it’s debilitating to the point of demoralizing. And you can’t look someone in the eye because it brings up shame. Most people don’t have the mother of dragons’ shoes to walk in to help them get out of it, and those are the people I speak to now. But for me, the show must go on, so you get back in those shoes and Khaleesi’s killing all the masters, speaking to 300 people in a language that’s not real and having sex with Kit Harington [who plays Jon Snow].”"

Who isn’t surprised hearing that the woman who played one of the most fierce women in television felt ashamed to look others in the eye? We certainly are.

But as Clarke explains, she had to fulfill her duty as the Mother of Dragons — and in doing so, has likely inspired others who’ve battled with debilitating health situations.

"“It literally forced me awake again and to look someone in the eye because I had to. It’s been an unbelievable blessing.”"

Also, we have to give it to Clarke who has a sense of humor after everything that’s happened. She joked that the bit of her brain that died was probably her taste in men.

Here’s the thing about Clarke. She’s not only an exceptional actress but also an amazing woman. She’s done some amazing projects outside of Game of Thrones and her work as Daenerys Targaryen defined an entire generation of fans.

Emilia Clarke is brilliant, strong, and one of the most talented actresses we have today. We can’t wait to see what she does next, now that Game of Thrones has ended.