Jason Momoa hits back at ‘icky’ question about his role on Game of Thrones

An interview with the New York Times soon turned uncomfortable, after Jason Momoa was quizzed whether he now “thinks differently” about after his role as the infamous Khal Droho in Game of Thrones.

The actor starred in the HBO hit show, whose wedding night to Daenerys Targaryen, played by Emilia Clarke, ended in rape in the pilot episode. Though George R.R. Martin’s novels depicted the sex scenes as consensual, showrunners changed the dynamics without telling him. The author later said that changing the scene to rape made the pilot worse.

Speaking about his GOT role, the reporter asked Momoa: “Do you think differently today about those scenes? Would you do one now? Do you have any regrets? Those types of scenes can seem as if they belong to an older cultural moment.”

It was “important to depict Drogo and his style”, the 42-year-old responded, before pointing out how he had never been asked ‘if he had regrets’ before:

“You’re playing someone that’s like Genghis Khan. It was a really, really, really hard thing to do. But my job was to play something like that, and it’s not a nice thing, and it’s what that character was. It’s not my job to go, ‘Would I not do it?’ I’ve never really been questioned about ‘Do you regret playing a role?’ We’ll put it this way: I already did it. Not doing it again.”

As the interview concluded, Momoa reverted back to the “icky” question, saying he was “bummed out” that the reporter asked him that.

“When you brought up ‘Game of Thrones,’ you brought up stuff about what’s happening with my character and would I do it again. I was bummed when you asked me that.

“It just feels icky — putting it upon me to remove something. As if an actor even had the choice to do that. We’re not really allowed to do anything.

“There are producers, there are writers, there are directors, and you don’t get to come in and be like, ‘I’m not going do that because this isn’t kosher right now and not right in the political climate.’

“That never happens. So it’s a question that feels icky. I just wanted you to know that.”