Jason Momoa Reacts to 'Icky' Question About Sexual Violence in Game of Thrones

Kevin Winter/Getty Images Jason Momoa

Jason Momoa doesn't think he should be asked to answer for his character's on-screen wrongdoing.

While promoting his upcoming Netflix film Sweet Girl, the 42-year-old actor reflected on some of his past roles during an interview with The New York Times. At one point, the interviewer asked about the discourse surrounding Game of Thrones' violence and treatment of women, saying the sequences "seem as if they belong to an older cultural moment."

"Do you think differently today about those scenes?" the reporter asked. "Would you do one now? Do you have any regrets?"

"Well, it was important to depict Drogo and his style. You're playing someone that's like Genghis Khan. It was a really, really, really hard thing to do. But my job was to play something like that, and it's not a nice thing, and it's what that character was," explained Momoa.

"It's not my job to go, 'Would I not do it?' I've never really been questioned about 'Do you regret playing a role?' " he added. "We'll put it this way: I already did it. Not doing it again."

Later in the interview, Momoa returned to the Game of Thrones inquiry, stating for the record that he felt the question was "icky."

RELATED: Jason Momoa Sends Emilia Clarke 'Love' After Game of Thrones Finale: 'Baby That Episode Killed Me'

Want to get the biggest stories from PEOPLE every weekday? Subscribe to our new podcast, PEOPLE Every Day, to get the essential celebrity, entertainment and human interest news stories Monday through Friday.

"I wanted to bring something up that left a bad feeling in my stomach. When you brought up Game of Thrones, you brought up stuff about what's happening with my character and would I do it again. I was bummed when you asked me that," said Momoa. "It just feels icky — putting it upon me to remove something. As if an actor even had the choice to do that."

"We're not really allowed to do anything," he continued. "There are producers, there are writers, there are directors, and you don't get to come in and be like, 'I'm not going do that because this isn't kosher right now and not right in the political climate.' That never happens. So it's a question that feels icky. I just wanted you to know that."

RELATED VIDEO: Jason Momoa Says He Wants to Make a Movie with Dwayne Johnson: 'One of These Days'

The hit HBO fantasy drama was created by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss, and it ran for eight seasons between 2011 and 2019.

Momoa's character (spoiler alert) was killed off during the first season finale. He told InStyle last year that while his costars went on to find huge success on the HBO series, he struggled to pay the bills on the Los Angeles home he shares with wife Lisa Bonet and their two children after his time on the show ended.

"I mean, we were starving after Game of Thrones," recalled Momoa, who later was cast as superhero Aquaman. "I couldn't get work. It's very challenging when you have babies and you're completely in debt."

Sweet Girl is available to stream on Netflix starting Aug. 20.