Jason Momoa is best known for his role as Aquaman in the DCEU, but he first gained his shot at fame with Game of Thrones. The actor played the Dothraki emperor Khal Drogo and was paired up with Emilia Clarke’s Daenerys Targaryen. Momoa’s brief but memorable performance as the silent and brooding Khal impressed fans and critics alike.
Looking at Momoa, it is obvious that he is a strong man, who has severely bulked up since his short stint on Game of Thrones. However, co-creator and showrunner David Benioff reportedly took the foolish journey to discovering just how strong Momoa was by challenging him to not one but two tests of strength, thus severely injuring himself.
Jason Momoa’s test of strength on Game of Thrones’ David Benioff turned a hilarious story into a painful one
Any sane person would take one look at Jason Momoa and believe that he possesses a level of strength that mere mortals could only aspire for. While the actor looked bulked up enough as Khal Drogo in Game of Thrones, he has only gotten bigger and stronger since his stint as Aquaman and might get even bigger to play Lobo in the DCU.
While his scene in Game of Thrones was proof enough of his strength, showrunner David Benioff reportedly got drunk one night with the cast after filming and challenged Momoa to a game of ‘Mercy’. The game involves two players who interlock their fingers with each other and then proceed to twist their opponent’s wrists and resist the other’s attempts.
Benioff reportedly did not call out ‘Mercy’ to stop the game for a long time (possibly due to being drunk). He said in a conversation with Rob McElhenney,
Just for whatever reason I had in my head that I really thought I was gonna win…I was so drunk and stubborn that I refused to say mercy even though he was destroying me until Emilia started, you know, screaming.
Still, Benioff reportedly did not learn his lesson and challenged Momoa to the slap game and ended up with swollen hands.
Jason Momoa reportedly ‘squished’ David Benioff’s hands during the slap game
Everyone knows the first two rules of Fight Club, but Tyler Durden should have included a mercy rule where if a really dumb fighter wants to keep going despite getting hurt, they should be taken away. Unfortunately for Game of Thrones co-creator David Benioff, no such rule existed and he had no form of protection from Jason Momoa’s onslaught.
Even after getting seriously hurt from Momoa’s ‘Mercy’ game, Benioff reportedly challenged him to a slap game after, which resulted in him getting swollen hands. He said,
Two days later, the next day, my hands were pretty swollen. But you know, I thought it’ll go down, I’ll keep icing them, and the day after that they were even more swollen. And then I flew back to LA…I come home to try to hug my wife, but I can’t really touch her…yeah, he’d squished my hand. That’s what the doctor in the emergency room…actually said, ‘Your hand was squished’.
Possibly due to this show of strength, Benioff chose Khal Drogo as his pick to play a character in Game of Thrones if ever given a chance.
Game of Thrones is available to stream on Max.
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