Jason Momoa says showrunners were “very scared” the first time he auditioned for Khal Drogo

While Game of Thrones thrives on the beauty of the details of its characters, it’s also known as the show which shows no hesitation in killing off major characters. One of the earliest characters on the show that would leave you feeling a bit scared inside, was Khal Drogo. Daenerys Targaryen‘s first lover, he was one bad-ass looking character, and Jason Momoa completely stole the show, portraying him. Now, it’s been a long time since Khal Drogo was killed off, but the audition tape of Jason trying out for the role still resurfaces every few months or so. Jason Momoa recently talked about his Game of Thrones audition, and how the showrunners were scared the first time around. Read on!

Jason’s audition was quite unconventional. Since Khal Drogo didn’t talk much, Jason chose to perform a Maori haka, which is a traditional war dance. Talking about the same in aninterviewwith theThe New York Times, recently, Jason said :

“On Game of Thrones, [Drogo] doesn’t say much. So how do you convey him? There’s nothing in the script.

So I said: ‘I have this idea. Is it OK to do [a dance] before the audition?’ And they were like, ‘Oh, sure.’ Then I did the Haka. It was challenging to do the audition afterward — I couldn’t stop my heart from beating. The first time I did it, they were very scared. But then they wanted me to come back in so they could put it on tape.”

Watch Jason Momoa’s audition tape, below :

He continued to talk about the choices he made about his portrayal of Drogo :

“You have to walk around like you’re a king. I’m not the king in my own house. I have to wash the dishes and take out the trash and say, ‘Yes, baby.’ I’m 6-foot-5, but I kind of walk around hunched over. I’m not like, ‘Hey, check me out.’ But Drogo had to have that posture.”

Well, we’re lucky that Jason made the choices he did, because Khal Drogo, albeit short-lived, was a very nice addition to the tone of the show back then. Jason Momoa will be playing Aquaman now, in the upcoming Justice League film, set for a November release. If you can’t wait till then to see him again, maybe you could re-watch Game of Thrones to prepare yourself for the horrors that Season 7 will bring, when it returns July 16th.

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