Emilia Clarke has revealed to her fans a secret ordeal she suffered in 2011 whilst starting her career on the set of Game of Thrones.
The rising actress suffered a nearly fatal brain haemorrhage whilst exercising for her role as Daenerys Targaryen when she fell ill, requiring brain surgery that caused temporary amnesia.
Ms. Clarke was unaware she was living with a hidden aneurysm in her brain for three years before it ruptured, and the "invisible illness" prompted the HBO star to break the silence over the incident.
"I know from personal experience that the impact of brain injury is shattering," Clarke wrote in the New Yorker. "Recovery is long-term and rehabilitation can be difficult to access."
"We must help young adults take control of their recovery and allow them to open up without fear of stigma or shame."
During her workout, she began to feel a terrible band headache around her skull, prompting her to run to the toilet. "I reached the toilet, sank to my knees and proceeded to be violently, voluminously ill," she wrote.
"Meanwhile, the pain — shooting, stabbing, constricting pain — was getting worse," she said. "At some level, I knew what was happening — my brain was damaged."