Game of Thrones fans witnessed the death of Khal Drogo long ago, when the powerful warlord perished at the hands of his then-wife Daenerys Targaryen. It was tough to say goodbye to the Dothraki warrior, who proved himself to be something of a sensitive man when not engaged in acts of violence on the battlefield. Few can forget how they felt when they watched Dany smother him with a pillow to put him out of his misery after he was poisoned by a vengeful magician.
These episodes premiered in 2011, which feels like a lifetime ago. But Khal Drogo experienced something of a second death when actor Jason Momoa shaved off his signature beard for the first time since 2012.
Momoa, who appeared as Khal Drogo on Game of Thrones for only 10 episodes and still managed to win the hearts of millions, posted a video of himself shearing off his famous facial hair to his YouTube channel on April 17.
Out in the open wilderness, presumably on location filming the Dune reboot, the actor took an electric clipper to his beard. With each chunk he shaved off, the actor bid farewell to a character he played while rocking it.
The actor quickly revealed that he wasn’t getting rid of his whiskers all willy-nilly. Rather, Momoa stripped his strapping face of all its hair and stubble for a good cause: to increase awareness about the importance of reducing plastic to help preserve the environment.
Momoa continued, detailing that he’s launching a line of aluminum cans of water that are completely recyclable.
According to the actor,
“About 75 percent of all aluminum that’s ever been used is still in circulation today, and it’s 100 percent recyclable. So you drink the can, and in about 60 days, it’ll be back, 100 percent.”
As Momoa cleaned up the last remaining hairs on his face, he gave a little shout out to his superhero character to drive his point home, saying,
“Aquaman’s trying to do the best he can for my kids, for your kids, for the world. Clean up the oceans, clean up the land.”
And now, apparently, so is Momoa.
A video as momentous as Momoa buzzing off the beard he’s had for the better part of a decade was bound to garner a ton of attention, and it got people talking. Fans quickly flocked to the comments section of the video and to Twitter to react to beardless Momoa.
Many, like Twitter user @MissDonnaCooke, pointed out the unfortunate truth that not only do we live in a world where most people don’t recycle, but we now also live in a world where Jason Momoa no longer has a beard. She wrote in her post,
“Well done guys, first you destroyed the planet and now you destroy Jason Momoa’s beard. I don’t know which is worse. Shame on you all.”
She also appended the hashtag “bring back the beard.”
Judging by the reactions to the YouTube video, which has drawn over 4 million views after only a couple of days, people think Momoa still looks great, with or without a beard. Many were more blown away by the actor’s activism than by his new look.
As one fan wrote on Twitter, “With and without beard!! He’s still attractive. Jason Momoa shaving his beard for a good cause.”
At the end of the day, hair does grow back. In a way, it’s just as infinitely recyclable a resource as aluminum. So Momoa might again sport the lush Khal Drogo beard his fans clearly love one day. Whether or not that happens, though, one thing’s for certain: Momoa will continue trying to save the planet, and that’s arguably more awesome than anything Drogo did in Aquaman.