Birthday Special: How Jason Momoa's Khal Drogo from 'Game of Thrones' turned out to be a game-changer for the actor

The herculean Jason Momoa turns 44 today. He’s known for his roles in shows like Game of Thrones, Frontier and films like Aquaman. It was the first name in the examples, fondly called GOT, which turned out to be a game-changer for the star. His towering physicality and man-mountain aura in real life neatly camouflaged in the hideousness of the iconic character- Khal Drogo.

The prep

It went beyond body and the actor attacked the soul of the character; he took the time to understand the (fictional) Dothraki culture, learning their language and customs, which helped him delve into the complexities of Drogo.

Emilia Clarke‘s brush with death and Momoa’s reaction

Jason Momoa, who played Khal Drogo in Game of Thrones opened up about his co-star Emilia Clarke‘s brush with death. The actor called Clarke “so brave” after she revealed that she has had two life-threatening aneurysms, and two brain surgeries since the fantasy show began.

Actor’s withdrawals symptoms

Momoa was going through Game of Thrones withdrawals symptoms back in 2019. The then 39-year-old actor, who played Khal Drogo, husband to Daenerys in season one, took to social media and live-streamed his reaction to the finale episode, that aired on 19 May.

“F**k it all, it’s going down,” he said before the episode began. “Khaleesi, I love you. Emilia, I love you. So sorry I wasn’t there for you.”

Momoa also thanked the creators of the showfor giving him the opportunity to play Drogo back in 2011. He then dove into the episode, but his reactions progressed to rather bold, profanity-laden phrases, and involved lot of angry cursing as the episode inched ahead.

Actor shaves off his beard

Momoa, who is best known for playing Khal Drogo in Game of Thrones, Arthur Curry in Aquaman and Declan Harp in the Frontier TV series, shaved his beard for the first time since 2012 back in 2019. The actor bid goodbye to his signature beard in a video he shared on YouTube to help raise awareness for recycling.