It's hard out here for the Mother of Dragons on Game of Thrones. Daenerys Stormborn was cruising with Drogon at the end of Season 5, but then it he and dumped her in the middle of nowhere, where she was subsequently picked up by a Dothraki horde. That's when she met Khal Moro.
It's been awhile since Dany has been amidst a khalasar, and a lot has changed. Since her Dothrak husband Khal Drago passed in the first season, Dany has given birth to three dragons, sacked cities, and fashioned herself into a benevolent but flawed empress. But as Moro let her know in this season's first episode, all those titles she's garnered for herself mean nothing to him and his people. What matters to this guy, an imposing but more toned down khal, is getting Dany to where he believes she belongs: with the dosh khaleen in Vaes Dothrak (basically, a retirement home for widowed khaleesis).
Since we know Dany—and know that both Daario Naharis and Jorah are on a rescue mission to save her—it's safe to assume that the Mother of Dragons won't just sit back and live out the rest of her days with the dosh khaleen. And that will surely put Khal Moro, who has been somewhat kind to Dany, in a tough position. With things heating up in Essos, we talked to Joe Naufahu, who plays Khal Moro, about who his character really is, learning the language, and the violence to come.
Be honest—how hard is it to learn Dothraki?
It’s pretty intense. It’s pretty wicked the way they set you up with the material—you get sent audio tapes, recordings of [David J. Peterson], who invented the language. And then you obviously have the dialogue coach that I saw twice a week, and it’s been a couple hours at a time just stopping and going through the scenes and getting them down. Because yeah, there’s a few mouthfuls in there, man.
Can you speak it off the top of your head now?
[Laughs.] I wish, man. I wish.
So who is Khal Moro?
He’s a pretty easygoing guy, as far as khals go. You know, I think most khals, if their brothers were talking back, trying to tell a joke or play Casanova, they would slit their throats, but he actually accepts what they’re saying. So he’s quite a tolerant guy—he doesn’t try to display his power too much. He’s a loyal guy, he sticks to the tradition—you saw that. But he’s also a very proud guy as well, and I think his thing is, "If I can’t have it then no one’s gonna have it." That’s kind of the way he's approaching this relationship with Daenerys.
It was pretty surprising to see a khal and Dothraki joke around like they did in that first episode.
I guess the difference is that we’re showing that there is a lighter side to the Dothraki. It’s fun to add that bit of humor to the character, and you’ll see a bit more of that in the coming episodes. [But] you know, I think you’ll see some of the other side coming out in the next episodes too.
Well, yeah, because at the moment it seems Dany and Khal Moro have opposing agendas. So is there going to be a conflict, or is there an opportunity for these two to become unlikely allies?
I mean, it would be a huge break from tradition. I guess if either of them wants to fold—and that would be a break from past seasons. It's tough. You can't [count out] Daenerys. She’s in trouble, but you never kind of feel that’s she ever gonna be hurt because she’s got all these weapons at her disposal. It’ll be interesting to see if either of them, I guess, break from the mold. But you’re gonna have to wait and see what happens.
I think everyone's wondering, "When are the dragons coming back!?"
Yeah! That’s the thing—she’s got so many things going for her. She’s got her guards that are searching for her—they’re on the trail—and then she’s also got her dragons. So you’re kind of just wondering, who’s gonna serve her first, you know?
When you get scripts, are you scared? Are you turning the pages with anticipation like, "Please don't kill me"?
There's that initial euphoria of getting cast, and then there's the, "Shit, I wonder how many episodes I've got?" But there's enough there for me to really get my teeth into it, and you're really just happy to be involved in a show of this scale that's so great and has such a great fan base.
So with Daario and Jorah "on the trail," are things about to get bloody?
Definitely bloody. Yeah, there's gonna be some pretty cool action coming up, that's for sure.
Well, I hope you don't get killed.
[Laughs.] Thanks, man. I appreciate that.
