Jason Momoa stood up for himself in a recent interview after a question about his controversial sexual assault scene in Game of Thrones left a "bad feeling" in his stomach.
In an interview that was published on Friday, July 30, the Aquaman star, 42, spoke to New York Times about a wide range of topics - including his role as Khal Drogo in the hugely popular fantasy series.
However, Momoa took umbrage with the phrasing of a particular question that implied he may have regrets about having played a character who sexually assaults Daenerys Targaryen on their wedding night.
David Marchese, a journalist at the publication, prefaced his question by explaining that the HBO show "inspired a lot of discussion about its depiction of scenes of sexual assault and its treatment of women generally."
He then proceeded to ask Momoa: "Do you think differently today about those scenes? Would you do one now? Do you have any regrets? Those types of scenes can seem as if they belong to an older cultural moment."
The actor responded: "Well, it was important to depict Drogo and his style. You’re playing someone that’s like Genghis Khan.
"It was a really, really, really hard thing to do. But my job was to play something like that, and it’s not a nice thing, and it’s what that character was.
"It’s not my job to go, 'Would I not do it?' I’ve never really been questioned about 'Do you regret playing a role?' We’ll put it this way: I already did it. Not doing it again."
Marchese then moved on to talk about Momoa's science fiction series See and other projects he has been involved in since Game of Thrones.
However, as soon as the reporter wrapped up the interview, Momoa decided to call him out over the question about his contentious scene in Game of Thrones.
He said: "I wanted to bring something up that left a bad feeling in my stomach. When you brought up Game of Thrones, you brought up stuff about what’s happening with my character and would I do it again. I was bummed when you asked me that."
The actor went on to describe the question as "icky", explaining that actors have no creative control over the depiction of certain scenes.
He added: "There are producers, there are writers, there are directors, and you don’t get to come in and be like, 'I’m not going do that because this isn’t kosher right now and not right in the political climate. That never happens. So it’s a question that feels icky. I just wanted you to know that."