Clarke suffered from two life-threatening brain aneurysms

Los Angeles: Actor Emilia Clarke has revealed that in the early years of 'Game of Thrones' she suffered from two brain aneurysms that nearly took her life.

In an essay for The New Yorker, published online on Thursday, Clarke said the health scares began soon after the success of the first season of the HBO epic-fantasy drama.

Clarke said just before she assumed her role as Daenerys Targaryen in 2011, she started feelng a "shooting, stabbing, constricting pain" in her head during a workout with her trainer.

"I immediately felt as though an elastic band were squeezing my brain. I tried to ignore the pain and push through it, but I just couldn't. Somehow, almost crawling, I made it to the locker room. I reached the toilet, sank to my knees, and proceeded to be violently, voluminously ill."

"Meanwhile, the pain shooting, stabbing, constricting pain was getting worse. At some level, I knew what was happening: my brain was damaged," she said. Further, the 24-year-old Emilia Clarke was rushed to the hospital, where she had an MRI scan that showed an aneurysm requiring brain surgery.