Emilia Clarke - ‘I’m A Bad Celebrity’

How To Fail With Elizabeth Day

Sony Music

Society & Culture

4.7 • 9.6K Ratings

🗓️ 13 May 2026

⏱️ 60 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Emilia Clarke is the Emmy‑nominated actor who became a global cultural icon as Daenerys Targaryen in Game of Thrones, a role that catapulted her from fresh drama‑school graduate to one of the most recognisable faces on the planet. Since then she’s starred in everything from Me Before You to Solo: A Star Wars Story, won acclaim on the West End and now leads Ponies, a Cold War spy thriller she also produces. In this episode, we talk about her childhood love of acting, the imposter syndrome that followed early fame, her failure to master mathematics, the terror and denial surrounding her aneurysms, the shattering grief of losing her Dad, the joy of female friendships and…yes, ok…Game Of Thrones. ✨ IN THIS EPISODE: 00:00 Cheating Death Opener 00:14 Emilia Clarke Intro 02:54 Ponies And Friendship 03:39 Learning Russian Lines 06:45 Why Acting Means Failure 08:33 Failing At Maths 11:44 Early Acting Spark 14:10 Losing Her Dad 21:09 Failure At Recovery 24:30 Aneurysm In The Gym 27:10 Misdiagnosed Stroke Scare 28:01 Second Aneurysm 29:25 Surgery Goes Wrong 31:37 Relearning and Emotional Shutdown 33:30 Back to Work Too Soon 35:43 Recovery Without Grace 37:40 Healing and New Diagnoses 40:12 Bad at Celebrity 43:01 Game of Thrones Aftermath 46:08 Body Image and Press 48:11 Brows and Beauty Culture 50:40 Self Knowledge and Closing 💬 QUOTES TO REMEMBER: You spend your 20s and 30s trying to be somebody else, and then your 40s are the moment when you go back to who you actually are. I was blessed that after each of my brain injuries, in my mind, there was no other option but to carry on. The only good thing about having someone that you love pass away is that every good thing that ever happens, you know it's them. 🔗 LINKS + MENTIONS: All episodes of PONIES will be available on Sky and steaming service NOW in the UK & Ireland from 22 May Join the How To Fail community: www.howtofail.supportingcast.fm/#content Elizabeth’s Substack: www.theelizabethday.substack.com 📚 WANT MORE? Kate Winslet – the Oscar‑winning actor on reinvention, self‑doubt and the power of starting again at any age: swap.fm/l/qrRLW000eyVDrBz3ZtbI Gillian Anderson – the Emmy- and Golden Globe-winning icon on fame, burnout, womanhood and refusing to shrink herself for anyone: swap.fm/l/7NyZMzkfVOpGyDtlB6k0 💌 LOVE THIS EPISODE? Subscribe on Spotify, Apple or wherever you get your podcasts Leave a 5⭐ review – it helps more people discover these stories 👋 Follow How To Fail & Elizabeth: Instagram: @elizabday TikTok: @howtofailpod Podcast Instagram: @howtofailpod Website: www.elizabethday.org Guest bookings for How To Fail only come from official @sonymusic.com emails Elizabeth answers listener questions in our subscriber series, Failing with Friends. Join our community of subscribers here: www.howtofail.supportingcast.fm/#content Have a failure you’re trying to work through for Elizabeth to discuss? Click here to get in touch: howtofailpod.com Production & Post Production Coordinator: Eric Ryan Engineer: Matias Torres Assistant Producer: Shania Manderson Senior Producer: Hannah Talbot Executive Producer: Alex Lawless How to Fail is an Elizabeth Day and Sony Music Entertainment Production. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com _________________________________________________________________________ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	I was just convinced that I had cheated death and I was meant to die.
0:04.5	I'm a bad celebrity.
0:06.9	I suck at it.
0:08.4	I finally feel like I'm at a place in my career now where I'm like, I get it.
0:14.4	This episode of How to Fail is brought to you by Dove Whole Body Deodorant.
0:18.9	Welcome to How to Fail, the podcast that believes, as James Joyce once said, that failures
0:23.9	are the portals of self-discovery.
0:26.7	Before we get into this episode, please do remember to like, follow and subscribe so
0:31.3	that you never miss a single conversation.
0:36.6	This podcast is all about speaking the truth, honest, transparent storytelling and embracing our
0:44.2	perceived failures to discover what we've learned from them. Every week, I'm lucky enough to speak
0:49.9	with some of the most impressive and inspiring people from around the world. But while those conversations
0:55.4	are always a joy, they do sometimes take me out of my comfort zone. And when I'm feeling the
1:02.0	pressure, there's always the risk of getting a bit hot and bothered before my esteemed guest arrives,
1:07.4	which is why I'm so pleased to have Dove Whole Body helping me feel calm and confident.
1:14.1	Dove Whole Body Deodorant delivers all day odour protection and is designed to be used beyond
1:19.5	underarms on areas such as the chest, back, thighs and feet, helping you feel fresh from head to
1:26.0	toe. It even comes with added skin care, so it's
1:29.4	suitable for my sensitive skin. To help reach those trickier spots, Dove whole body deodorant
1:35.2	comes in a spray, in a stick, and in a cream format, with three fragrances to choose from,
1:44.5	including raspberry and rose, lavender and chamomile,
1:47.9	and sea mist and peony, my personal favourite.
	...

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