Actor Jason Momoa revealed that his family had financial troubles when his tenure on Game of Thrones ended, but that things improved after he was hired as Aquaman.

In an interview with InStyle, Momoa stated that the years after Drogo’s death on the first season of Game of Thrones were financially difficult for him, his wife Lisa Bonet, and their two children. “I mean, we were starving after Game of Thrones,” he said. “I couldn’t get work. It’s very challenging when you have babies and you’re completely in debt.”

Momoa has been acting since the late 1990s, starring in shows like Baywatch: Hawaii, North Shore, and Stargate Atlantis, but his role as Khal Drogo in Game of Thrones sealed his fame.

Momoa suffered these problems in part because his performance of Khal Drogo, a primarily quiet character who spoke Dothraki rather than English, gave producers the false idea about his acting abilities. “For a while afterward, a lot of people bagged on me. It hurt me a lot. People thought I didn’t speak English,” the actor told EW in an interview. “They didn’t know I was playing a role. I’m nothing like Drogo. I’m like Drogo when I’m being lovey and close to the woman I love and being nice, but his other half is not me. But then everyone fell in love with Drogo when they re-watched the show.”

Jason Momoa played Khal Drogo, the leader of a fearsome clan of warriors, in the award-winning drama Game Of Thrones. In the series, he featured with Emilia Clarke. The character of Khal Drogo appeared in two seasons of the program for 11 episodes before being killed off in 2012. Jason Momoa appeared in projects like The Red Road and Drunk History after that.

Everything worked out in the end, fortunately. “Game of Thrones” led to consistent movie employment, and he was finally cast as Aquaman in the Warner Bros. DC Comics film franchise, which debuted in 2016 with “Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice.”

He recently made news for openly defending his Justice League co-star Ray Fisher, who has accused director Joss Whedon of being unprofessional and abusive on set. “THIS S**T HAS TO STOP AND NEEDS TO BE LOOKED AT @ray8fisher AND EVERYONE ELSE WHO EXPERIENCED WHAT HAPPEN UNDER THE WATCH OF @wbpictures NEEDS PROPER INVESTIGATION,” Momoa said on Instagram.

Aside from being surprised to see his name beside Josh Brolin and Javier Bardem, Momoa believes the subject matter of Frank Herbert’s sci-fi universe is timely, considering the parallels to issues confronting mankind in the year 2020. He described the plot of Dune as “not alien versus alien — but about conflicts between human tribes. And greed. It really hits home right now.”

“Aquaman,” his first solo feature, made $1.1 billion globally in 2018. In December 2021, he’ll be featured in the new film adaptation of “Dune,” which will be released in theaters. And, as InStyle points out, his schedule is booked up until 2024.