Prior to the eighth season of Game of Thrones, many fans of the show would have said that their favorite character was Daenerys Targaryen. Although she had a lot of terrible moments on the show, the power and compassion of this leading female character (prior to season eight!) made her an object of adoration.
Many fans grew to love the on-screen relationship between Daenerys and her husband Khal Drogo, even though the two don’t start out that positively. So naturally, fans are also emotionally invested in the real-life relationship between the two actors who played these iconic characters: Emilia Clarke and Jason Momoa.
There are quite a few sweet things to know about the friendship between Jason Momoa and Emilia Clarke, including the super adorable way that they first met.
Keep reading to find out how Momoa first introduced himself to Clarke and where the two stand today.
Daenerys Targaryen And Khal Drogo In ‘Game Of Thrones’
Daenerys Targaryen and Khal Drogo are two characters from the super popular series Game of Thrones. While Daenerys is one of the most important characters in the series and appears in all eight seasons of the show, Khal Drogo is more of a minor character and only appears in the first season.
In the show, Daenerys is married to Khal Drogo, the leader of the Dothraki, by her brother.
Although she doesn’t love the Khal at first, she eventually warms to him and embraces her new role as Khaleesi of the Dothraki.
Jason Momoa And Emilia Clarke’s On-Screen Relationship
Daenerys Targaryen was portrayed in the show by Emilia Clarke, while Khal Drogo was played by Jason Momoa. The two actors share some uncomfortable scenes at the beginning of the first season, as Daenerys is married to Khal against her will.
But as the episodes go on, Daenerys and Khal Drogo do genuinely grow feelings for one another. Their relationship reaches its peak when Daenerys falls pregnant with Drogo’s child.
In real life, it was well documented that Emilia Clarke and Jason Momoa were far better friends than their characters.
How Emilia Clarke And Jason Momoa First Met
Considering the fact that their on-screen relationship involved some troubling scenes, there may have been a little anxiety when Emilia Clarke and Jason Momoa first met.
But Momoa tried to make things as casual as possible by … tackling his on-screen wife to the ground.
"I walked in and from the other side of this enormous lobby I hear 'WIFEY!'" Clarke recalled (via Insider).
“And this huge Hawaiian man comes bounding over to me, picks me up, and genuinely gets me in a rugby tackle to the floor. It was only when he picked me back up and kind of dusted me off that I was like, 'Who are you?'"
As it turns out, the rugby tackle was the start of a long friendship between the two actors.
Jason Momoa Helped Emilia Clarke Through Her Health Battles
Both Jason Momoa and Emilia Clarke have spoken openly about their real-life friendship. Sources reveal that Momoa was there for Emilia Clarke to lean on when she was going through serious health battles behind the scenes of Game of Thrones.
A few years after Clarke underwent invasive surgery for a brain aneurysm scare, she opened up about her experience to the public.
Momoa applauded her courage, saying, “I just think it’s beautiful that—she’s so brave in helping the world and trying to raise awareness. I mean, I’m very sad because we almost lost her numerous times. So I love her to bits, and she’s here and she’s going to do great things with it and teach the world.”
Jason Momoa Looked After Emilia Clarke On Set
Not only was Jason Momoa there to help Emilia Clarke when she dealt with some terrifying experiences in real life—but he was also there for her when things got rough on the set.
In the Armchair Expert podcast, the actress revealed that he made her feel as comfortable as possible during the early days on set when she had to film some incredibly uncomfortable scenes involving nudity and violence.
In fact, this was one of the things that Clarke found the most difficult about filming Game of Thrones.
Where Their Friendship Stands Today
These days, Emilia Clarke and Jason Momoa are still close friends. They have reunited multiple times in public, including on talk shows where they have gushed about their friendship. The two actors also sometimes appear on each other’s Instagram accounts.
From what fans can see, they catch up with each other (and other cast members) to celebrate important milestones, like birthdays.
And, much to the delight of fans, they often reference inside Game of Thrones jokes as a tribute to how they met.
