Game Of Thrones: 9 Things We Learned From The SXSW 2017 Panel

8. Jason Momoa Broke David Benioff's Hand (But His Death Was Hard)

Game Of Thrones Khal Drogo death Daenerys
HBO

One of the many great on-set stories shared by Weiss and Benioff involved Jason Momoa, who played Khal Drogo on the show. When filming in Belfast, Benioff thought it'd be a good idea to engage in a game of slaps with the actor, despite the fact that he's about 6'4" tall and weighs around 250lbs. Even allowing for the fact that they were drunk, it sounds a terrible idea (for Benioff, anyway) and so it proved. After the game (which he of course lost) he returned home to his wife, who'd been looking after the kids for a month while he was away, with a considerably swollen hand:

"She’s like, ‘What the f**k is that?’ And I’m like, ‘Oh, I was playing the slap game with Jason Momoa.’ And she was just so disgusted with me. She took me to the emergency room and the doctor did the X-ray and was like, ‘Oh, your friend squished your hand.’ Medical term. Don’t play the slap game with Jason Momoa.”

Despite the fact that he *squished* his hand - what a thought - the death of Momoa's Drogo was one that 'D&D' really struggled with, Weiss telling the audience that they "never recovered from getting rid of him," and that was part of the reason he returned in Season 2, and was mentioned throughout the series.

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NCTJ-qualified journalist. Most definitely not a racing driver. Drink too much tea; eat too much peanut butter; watch too much TV. Sadly only the latter paying off so far. A mix of wise-old man in a young man's body with a child-like wonder about him and a great otherworldly sensibility.