Jason Momoa confronted a reporter over a what he called an “icky” Game Of Thrones question during a recent interview.
The actor, who played Khal Drogo in the first two seasons of the hit fantasy series, was asked about the discussion around the show’s “depiction of scenes of sexual assault and its treatment of women generally” in an interview with The New York Times.
The Game Of Thrones pilot episode featured a harrowing rape scene involving Jason’s character and Daenerys Targaryen, played by Emilia Clarke.
Jason was asked if he had any regrets about the scene and if he would do one now, to which he replied: “Well, it was important to depict Drogo and his style. 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.”
At the end of the interview, Jason circled back to the question, saying it had “left a bad feeling in my stomach”.
Describing it as “icky”, Jason said: “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.”