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Popular HBO series Game Of Thrones premiered in 2011 to rave reviews. Based on George RR Martin's The Song Of Ice And Fire books, the characters built a place in the hearts of fans. Most of the cast members started young, as they were cast in the show, and gained further fame. Kit Harington, Richard Madden, Sophie Turner and Emilia Clarke are now established actors in the industry, but many fans still see glimpses of their GoT characters in them.

Clarke as Daenerys Targaryen became one of the most loved characters in GoT. Her journey from being a Khalessi to the Queen Of The Seven Kingdoms brought with it many twists and turns, and fans didn't leave her side till the end. While GoT ended on a note that loyal fans didn't appreciate much, Daenerys' fate was particularly disliked. This happened as the show's ending strayed away from the books.    

While shooting GoT, Clarke also faced serious health battles. Her health problems started in February 2011, soon after wrapping filming on the HBO show’s first season. She was working out with her trainer in London when she felt a headache forming. She collapsed, triggering the need for a medical check-up.

“I’d had an aneurysm, an arterial rupture. As I later learned, about a third of SAH (subarachnoid hemorrhage) patients die immediately or soon thereafter. For the patients who do survive, urgent treatment is required to seal off the aneurysm, as there is a very high risk of a second, often fatal bleed," Clarke had shared recllaing her first major health episode while GoT was in production and was meant to last over several more years. She underwent surgery, which she described a "very painful" and "unbearable" procedure. A second surgery followed in 2013.

“I had a massive bleed and the doctors made it plain that my chances of surviving were precarious if they didn’t operate again. This time they needed to access my brain in the old-fashioned way — through my skull. And the operation had to happen immediately,” Clarke shared.

In a new interview with People, Clarke looked back at the time she had to fight the odds to stay alive and work on GoT. “I was just convinced that I had cheated death and I was meant to die,” Clarke, 39, said. "In that moment, I knew I was being brain-damaged,” the actress, who went on to features in Marvel's series Secret Invasion, added.