'Aquaman' star Jason Momoa and his family 'starved' after his 'GoT' exit

Jason Momoa has opened up about his life before he got his breakthrough role in "Aquaman." Now, a Hollywood biggie he was once struggling to make ends meet. He revealed that he and his family were barely making through the day and were starving after he left "Game of Thrones."

In his recent interview with InStyle, the 41-year-old actor said that life was not easy even after his iconic act in HBO's megahit series "Game of Thrones." While his role as Khal Drogo brought him enormous fame, Jason Mamoa was still struggling in the financial front and was "completely in debt" after his exit from the show. He and his wife Lisa Bonet, who share two kids, had a hard time paying their bills.

"I mean, we were starving after Game of Thrones," Momoa told the magazine. "I couldn't get work. It's very challenging when you have babies and you're completely in debt."

Things were not all rosy for the actor until 2016 when Momoa was cast in the "Justice League." His circumstances apparently drastically changed only after his superhit DC Comics movie "Aquaman" in 2018, which grossed over $1.1 billion worldwide, becoming one of the highest-grossing DCEU movies based on DC comic character.

After exiting "GoT" in 2011, he played a prominent role in "Road to Paloma" in 2014, which he directed and co-wrote. However, his main shot to fame arrived only with the Justice League where he played a leading role as Aquaman.

In the interview, he explained how his "unique background" also made his life difficult as a kid. Raised by a single mother in rural Iowa, he was the "only mixed-race kid in his Iowa elementary school." As reported, this made him an "easy target" for bullies.

"I got beat up a lot," he added. "Just for being slightly different—it was gnarly. I mean, I wore Birkenstocks in middle school, and it was like, 'You are a freak!'"

Previously, Momoa confessed that his "GoT" role hampered his acting career. He struggled to get new projects after that.

"For a while afterward, a lot of people bagged on me. It hurt me a lot. People thought I didn't speak English," Momoa once told Entertainment Weekly. "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 rewatched the show."

Momoa's difficult days are behind him now. The actor is reportedly booked until 2024 with some big projects like Apple TV+ series "See's" second season and Denis Villeneuve's adaptation of "Dune."