How Game of Thrones nearly killed Jason Momoa's career

It's responsible for launching the Hollywood careers of actors like Emilia Clarke and Kit Harington, but Game of Thrones was once more of a curse than a blessing for Jason Momoa.

The Hawaii-born actor told The Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon that after his warrior character Khal Drogo — the hugely popular love interest of Daenerys Targaryen — was killed off in 2012, he struggled to even land an audition.

"Not a lot of people thought I spoke English. It was very challenging. What do you do with Drogo? Like you're not going to put him in a comedy ... he's pigeonholed, you know?" the 38-year-old said. "I was bummed out... And then I met [comedian] Fred Armisen, and he goes 'I didn't even know you spoke English' — it was heartbreaking ... That's why I wasn't getting any jobs!"

Momoa, who has two children with his wife and former The Cosby Show star Lisa Bonet, explained that after a frustrating period of unemployment, he got a life-changing call from Justice League director Zack Snyder.

"That whole audition process is pretty crazy," he said. "Zack was a huge fan of Game of Thrones ... and I couldn't get a job and Zack called me in.

"It was funny because I had no idea what I was even playing. He just called me in. I had an audition for Batman. Obviously, Ben [Affleck] was cast. I was like, 'I'm just basically gonna be the bad guy. I'm gonna fight Batman and Superman. I'm gonna play the villain.' And he's like, 'Wait, no. Aquaman!'"

It was a major turning point in his career — after starring in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice in 2016, he went on to reprise the role in the ensemble Justice League movie, and his first stand-alone Aquaman blockbuster will be released later this year.