Emilia Clarke Feared Game of Thrones Would Fire Her for the Most Unfair Reason
The Daenerys Targaryen star was scared of losing her GoT gig because of her serious medical condition that could ruin the show.
Getting a major role in the biggest TV show since forever clearly comes with many perks. Like many of her co-stars, Emilia Clarke ’s name was pretty much unknown before Game of Thrones — but after portraying Daenerys Targaryen, the young actress became a world-wide famous star. However, Clarke’s road to success was not paved in rose petals; quite the other way around, really.
GoT Was Clarke’s Hardest Time in Life
Young actors always try to book their breakthrough roles, but most never get them. Those who do go crazy with happiness — and so did Emilia Clarke… At first. Life had other plans for the aspiring actress, and her biggest and most important gig just so happened to correspond with the worst and hardest time of her life.
During the filming of the first few seasons, Clarke suffered severe brain hemorrhage — twice. First, in 2011, when the first season just came out. Second, in 2013, after Season 3. Brain tumors are not to be trifled with: it’s a severe medical condition that kills most victims and leaves others dramatically handicapped. The Daenerys star had to go through it two times, but back then, her health wasn’t her primary worry.
Clarke Feared Getting Fired Over Health Issues
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After her first hemorrhage, Emilia Clarke couldn’t even say her own name. Her condition was awful, and while she managed to recover before next season’s production, she initially believed she wouldn’t be able to act again. She thought she would be fired and her career would be over; she asked the doctors to let her die.
“When you have a brain injury, because it alters your sense of self on such a dramatic level, all of the insecurities you have going into the workplace quadruple overnight. The first fear we all had was: ‘Oh my God, am I going to get fired? Am I going to get fired because they think I’m not capable of completing the job?’” Clarke shared with Big Issue.
No one fired the actress the first time; the second time, neither. Emilia Clarke got unbelievably lucky, twice surviving one of the deadliest conditions and remaining herself afterwards — but her days on Game of Thrones were forever tainted by fear, recurring medical problems, and later, in 2016, her beloved father’s sudden death.
It’s safe to say that Clarke might not remember her time on Game of Thrones as the best period of her life: while for others, she created a great story, her own life was a constant hell back then.
Source: Big Issue