The disgustingly gross prop Jason Momoa kept from Game of Thrones

It’s been many years since Jason Momoa appeared as the ferocious Khal Drogo on Game of Thrones, but plenty of people still remember his breakout role. He doesn’t become Aquaman or appear in the Fast & Furious franchise without this launchpad.

One of Momoa’s most memorable scenes came in the back half of the first season, when one of his Dothraki lieutenants challenges his authority. Naturally, Drogo can’t abide that. The two battle in single combat; Drogo peacocks around shedding his weapons before tearing out his opponent’s throat, winning handily.

Story-wise, this is when Drogo takes the wound that will later get infected and kill him. In George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire books, Drogo gets wounded in some random scuffle off-page, but Momoa wanted to see Drogo get into a real scrap before he died.

Jason Momoa’s young daughter was on set when he tore out a guy’s throat. “Papa’s just playing”

Momoa was particularly invested in getting the throat prop right. “I always wanted to see [Drogo] go to battle,” he told Entertainment Weekly when reminiscing about the scene. “I was like, ‘We can get a chicken breast, and we’ll just cover my hand in blood, and that’ll do it.’ And then within days they had this f—ing throat and tongue attachment, and it looked amazing.”

Naturally, Momoa wanted a version of that prop to take home. “I’m a big fan of taking the things that I worked with,” he said. “So I have the souvenir of the tongue and the throat. That’s just on my desk.”

Lest you think this all sounds too grisly, know that the mood on set was light. Just ask Momoa’s daughter, who was with him on set that day. “I love taking [my kids] everywhere, but I’m covered in blood, and she’s sitting there knitting with the wardrobe department,” he said. “She’s so cute. I’m like, ‘Hi, baby!’ [She’s like,] ‘I love you, Papa!’ Then I’d go and be like, ‘Raaa!’ She was, like, 4 years old. ‘Papa’s just playing’ — not fazed by it at all. It was a very memorable moment.”

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