Kiwi Actor Joe Naufahu Terrorising Daenerys on Game of Thrones

On his first day on the set of Game of Thrones, Joe Naufahu didn't believe what was unfolding in front of him.

"I'm sitting there with my gear on in my tent in the middle of desert. I've got a couple of wives sitting next to me, and then Khaleesi comes up to me," says the Kiwi actor, who played a pivotal role in the show's sixth season debut this week.

"You've gotta pinch yourself and say, 'Is this really happening, man?'"

Naufahu plays Khal Moro in the show, the Dothraki leader who has captured the Mother of Dragons, Daenerys Targaryen, played by Emilia Clarke, after one of her dragons dumped her in the middle of nowhere.

The scene was the first time fans had seen Naufahu in the show, the second Kiwi to feature in a high-profile role after Keisha Castle-Hughes debuted as Sand Snake Obara during season five.

In this week's episode, Naufahu's Moro discovers "Khaleesi" is the former wife of Dothraki leader Khal Drogo, who died in the first season, and decides her fate is to spend the rest of her days at Vaes Dothrak living with other widows.

Naufahu, who runs an Auckland gym when he's not starring in TV shows likeSpartacus and Go Girls or movies The Last Saint, was a big fan of the show and admits he was lucky to get the role after sending in an audition tape in which he looked nothing like a Dothraki warrior.

"At the time I had really short hair, no facial hair. I was like, 'Man they couldn't have picked the worst time to do this casting, I look nothing like a Dothraki at the moment'," he told the Herald.

While Naufahu is sworn to secrecy about this season's events, and how big his role is, he says there's plenty more to come from his character.

"It's a good role. There's some good meat in there, I'm really happy with what I've done in the first episode ... there's some good stuff coming."

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