Emilia Clarke has admitted she was ‘more afraid of being fired than dying’ when she was hospitalised with a brain haemorrhage, as she graced the cover of Harper’s Bazaar’s December/January issue.

The Game of Thrones star, 37, will scoop up the actress prize in Bazaar’s Woman of the Year Awards on November 7, following in the footsteps of Anya Taylor-Joy.

In an interview with the publication, Emilia shared how she felt when she was diagnosed with the subarachnoid aneurysm.

She said: ‘I wasn’t afraid of dying. I was afraid of being fired! I decided: ”This is not something that’s going to define me”. I never gave into any feeling of ‘Why me? This sucks’. I was just like – gotta get back on it.’

‘If I’m being brutally honest, the whole thing made me feel very ashamed. Like I was broken. As though the producers must think I’m an unreliable person that they’ve hired.’

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Wow: Emilia Clarke has admitted she was ‘more afraid of being fired’ when she was hospitalised with a brain haemorrhage, while posing for Harper’s Bazaar’s latest issue

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Honesty: The Game of Thrones star will scoop up the actress prize in Bazaar’s Woman of the Year Awards on November 7, following in the footsteps of Anya Taylor-Joy

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Cover girl: She said: ‘I wasn’t afraid of dying. I was afraid of being fired! I decided: ”This is not something that’s going to define me”

‘If I hadn’t had a brain haemorrhage, I might have turned into a right old d*ckhead, thinking I was the bee’s knees, living in Hollywood. I’m so much more aware of what’s happening, in the moment that it’s happening.

‘I don’t worry about failure – I thrive on failure! If something goes wrong, I always think you can fix it. It hurts, it’s scary, but then you can do anything.’

For the magazine,  Emilia was captured mid-run in one of the many stunning photos, with the ruffles of her white dress appearing like they had been placed directly onto her skin.

In another shot, the actress posed with hair slicked back, wearing a gorgeous red dress that gathered on one shoulder.

Emilia returned to acting this year, having taken a years-long break from physical roles, opting instead for sporadic voice work.

In an essay she wrote for The New Yorker in 2019, Emilia hinted at the possible reason for her long break.

The actress revealed that she had suffered a subarachnoid haemorrhage caused by a ruptured aneurysm and then aphasia.

She also shared that at one point her numerous brain illnesses left her unable to even recall her own name. 

 

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Painful: The actress previously revealed that she had suffered a subarachnoid haemorrhage in 2011, caused by a ruptured aneurysm and then aphasia

Emilia starred in one film this year, The Pod Generation, a sci-fi rom-com which she also produced, acting alongside Chiwetel Ejiofor.

She also starred as G’iah in Marvel’s miniseries Secret Invasion, a canon show following Nick Fury as he uncovers a conspiracy to conquer Earth.

Emilia has not announced any projects for 2024.

The December/January issue of Harper’s Bazaar featuring Emilia will be on sale from 8 November and can be bought from the Hearst Magazines website.