Game of Thrones fight choreographer recalls working with Jason Momoa

Game of Thrones boasted plenty of epic battle sequences over its eight-season run, but the smaller fight scenes from the first few seasons set up much of the drama and suspense that would come later. Some of the best early fights involved Jason Momoa’s imposing Khal Drogo, and were choreographed by Buster Reeves.

Momoa’s time on Game of Thrones may have been short-lived, but for someone who appeared in only the first season of the show, Khal Drogo made quite an impression on viewers. Although Drogo’s fight scenes were few, he was undoubtedly one of the toughest characters around — just look at how long his braid was. And apparently Momoa was eager to show off Drogo’s knack for fighting, regularly asking to jump into action.

“Jason Momoa was fantastic,” Reeves said during an interview with Metro. “He was always willing to pick up an axe, he was always like, ‘Can I have a fight? Can I have a fight onscreen? I really want a fight onscreen! Can I have a fight onscreen?’”

And while the decision was, ultimately, not up to Reeves, Momoa did get his fight scene, thanks in no small part to the enthusiasm he brought to the table. Reeves recalled working on the scene where Drogo fights Mago and receives the wound that would eventually get infected and kill him. “I really wanted to play on his strength as a king, like a big warrior,” Reeves recalled. “I had him fight the guy with the scimitar, I had Jason with no weapons, just by the end of it was two knives.”

That dynamic certainly made for a suspenseful moment, highlighting just how powerful Drogo really was. It’s a shame he didn’t make it to see some of the bigger battles in the series; Drogo would have been an asset to any side.

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