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Lena Headey Wrote the Kindest Message to Emilia Clarke About Her Brain Aneurysms

Cersei supporting Daenerys.

Game of Thrones star Lena Headey wrote a beautiful, supportive message to her costar Emilia Clarke, who revealed in a New Yorker essay on Thursday she had suffered two brain aneurysms while filming the hit HBO show.

"It took me a while to know this woman (there are 64000 of us after all)," Headey posted on Instagram alongside a photo of Clarke. "Not until she spoke to me about her experience did I fully realize the warrior she truly is (MOD for real x209840000) she does really great things for causes that deserve it. She’s kind and determined and funny and aware. #Thursday’s MVP ... Here’s to @emilia_clarke 💪💪💪💪💪⭐️⭐️⭐️💗."

MOD, for those uninitiated into Game of Thrones, means Mother of Dragons, the nickname for Clarke's character on the show. Lena Headey plays Cersei Lannister on GoT, and Emilia Clarke plays Daenerys. Their characters hardly interact onscreen — they've shared only one scene — which is why Headey's message is particularly exciting.

In her essay, Clarke outlines her emotional journey with the two brain aneurysms, which happened at such busy times in her life and career.

"I lost all hope," Clarke writes. "I couldn’t look anyone in the eye. There was terrible anxiety, panic attacks. I was raised never to say, 'It’s not fair'; I was taught to remember that there is always someone who is worse off than you. But, going through this experience for the second time, all hope receded. I felt like a shell of myself. So much so that I now have a hard time remembering those dark days in much detail. My mind has blocked them out. But I do remember being convinced that I wasn’t going to live."

Read Clarke's piece in its entirety here. Game of Thrones season eight premieres Sunday, April 14, at 8:00 p.m. ET on HBO.


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