Emilia Clarke is having a moment, and not just thanks to “Game of Thrones.” Clarke, who is best known for playing Daenerys Targaryen on the HBO show, just made Time magazine’s list of 2019’s 100 most influential people.
Almost a decade ago, Clarke snagged a lead role in the medieval fantasy series with pretty much no professional experience, and now she’s moving further into the spotlight. An essay she wrote for the New Yorker last month hints at where her influence may lead.
Clarke wrote a powerful personal narrative about suffering not one but two brain aneurysms. After her first one, she struggled to regain her speech during recovery. “I am an actor; I need to remember my lines. Now I couldn’t recall my name,” she said. “I could see my life ahead, and it wasn’t worth living.”
Obviously, Clarke recovered from both aneurysms and has wrapped up filming the final season of “Game of Thrones.” She has continued to develop her skills and seems to have no question about whether her life is again worth living.
A film she starred in a few years ago, however, addresses the question of a worthwhile life a little differently. In “Me Before You,” Clarke plays the caretaker turned lover of a handsome former banker in a wheelchair. She helps him return to a vibrant life after an accident that has left him paralyzed, but he decides it’s not enough. He travels to Switzerland, where euthanasia is legal, and ends his life.
The act is framed as one of kindness, where the man sacrifices his life so Clarke’s character can live one that’s more full, not tethered to a paralyzed man. The film rightly upset disability advocates and inspired the hashtag #MeBeforeEuthanasia. Humans are more than the physical ailments that hold them back, something Clarke appears to have only partially learned.
Overall, Clarke is a down-to-earth, refreshing face in Hollywood. Her next role will be in an upcoming romantic comedy, “Last Christmas,” with Emma Thompson. Her co-star, who wrote her bio for the Time list, described her this way:
… What was revealed was a woman of mickle might, whose instincts, whetted by years of hard work in environments that were not always safe or healthy, are as finely honed as any I’ve encountered.
She has the courage of a small lion, the stamina of a Welsh pit pony and the soul of a clown.
A powerhouse to watch and an ally to die for.
As Clarke moves on from the TV series that launched her fame, honed her talent, and built her resilience while she recovered from two aneurysms, she’ll continue to be a star to watch. She’s even breaking into activism, helping develop a charity called SameYou to offer treatment to people recovering from brain injuries or strokes.
If I could tell her one thing, though, it would be this: If you had recovered incompletely from your brain injury, your life would still be worth living. Clarke has developed an image of a fortitude from her role in “Game of Thrones” and, now, her strength in overcoming her health problems. But if speaking out about her aneurysms is the first step, embracing a life despite adversity would be the second.
No matter how Clarke may have felt amid her recovery, no matter the implications of “Me Before You,” it takes the most courage to embrace all human life, no matter what. As Clarke remains in the spotlight, let’s hope she welcomes this idea more.
[Also read: 4 things ‘Game of Thrones’ needs to answer]
