Jason Momoa struggled to pay the bills or buy food for his family after leaving Game of Thrones in 2011.
In an interview with InStyle, the actor admits he was "completely in debt" when his character, Khal Drogo, the husband of Emilia Clarke's Daenerys Targaryen, was killed off during the first season finale on the HBO show.
"I mean, we were starving after Game of Thrones," he says of his and wife Lisa Bonet's struggles to support their two children, daughter Lola Iolani, now 13, and son Nakoa-Wolf Manakauapo Namakaeha, 11.
"I couldn’t get work. It’s very challenging when you have babies and you're completely in debt."
Things started looking up for Jason when he was cast as Aquaman in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice years later, with the actor later reprising the role in 2017's Justice League and 2018's Aquaman. He also provided the voice for the superhero in 2019's The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part.
His next big screen role is in the all-star remake of Frank Herbert's classic science-fiction novel Dune, also starring Timothee Chalamet and Zendaya among other big names - and Jason insists he's still in awe of his success.
When he saw the Dune trailer, the star remembers: "It was 'Josh Brolin, Jason Momoa, Javier Bardem,' and I’m just like, 'Oh my God. I can’t believe my name was with those names.'
"I feel like I’m still a kid, freaking out."
