Emilia Clarke's brain aneurysms have left the star with permanent 'missing' parts of her brain as she reveals that parts are 'no longer usable' and it is 'remarkable' that she is still able to function at a high level.
On BBC One’s Sunday Morning on 17 July, Emilia Clarke spoke openly about the two brain aneurysms that she suffered from in 2011 and 2013 when she was filming for Game of Thrones. The star revealed that parts of her brain are no longer functioning and most people would not have survived the ordeal.
"The amount of my brain that is no longer usable – it’s remarkable that I am able to speak, sometimes articulately, and live my life completely normally with absolutely no repercussions," said Emilia. "I am in the really, really, really small minority of people that can survive that."
She added that when she has looked at her brain scans, there are a number of 'missing' parts. "There’s quite a bit missing! Which always makes me laugh," said the Last Christmas star.
Although she could now laugh, she explained the severity of the condition and why certain sections have died. "Because strokes, basically, as soon as any part of your brain doesn’t get blood for a second, it’s gone. And so the blood finds a different route to get around but then whatever bit it’s missing is therefore gone," said Emilia.
Like Bruce Willis and Sharon Stone, Emilia Clarke was also one of the many celebrities who suffered from aphasia, a condition that's common after a stroke and affects memory, speech, and language. Following her strokes and aneurysms, Emilia was unable to even recall her own name because of her severe aphasia.
Despite her ordeal, Emilia is now preparing to appear in The Seagull, a two-and-a-half-hour production at London’s Harold Pinter Theatre. The star spoke about being confident when it comes to remembering her lines for this script.
"I can do a two-and-a-half-hour play every single night and not forget a line. I always had a good memory because it is the only skill as an actor... so your memory is obviously incredibly important and I consistently tested that," said Emilia.
She concluded by saying that she tries not to worry about which parts of her brain are still working and which parts aren't. "There's no point in kind of continually racking your brains as to what might not be there because what you have now is great," concluded Emilia.
