Who is Khal Moro? Getting to know new 'Game of Thrones' actor Joe Naufahu

By: Chelsea Huang

At the alarming rate that characters are offed on "Game of Thrones," it's only natural that the series brings some fresh faces into the mix. Enter Joe Naufahu, who plays hunky Dothraki leader Khal Moro this season in Daenerys' latest story arc after fleeing Mereen on a dragon last season.

Naufahu, 38, who previously appeared in the TV series "Spartacus: War of the Damned," received word that producers wanted him on the show just three weeks after he submitted a homemade self-take.

"My agent rang me after, and I thought he was ringing to say I had a really crap self take and to do it again, but he said the producers and directors wanted to see me in Belfast," Naufahu said.

SEE ALSO: 'Game of Thrones' newcomer Joe Naufahu dishes on Khal Moro and Daenerys' season 6 journey

He was flown to London to get his wig and beard fitted in London and found himself on set in Spain a month later. The actor, who hails from Auckland, New Zealand, (that's fun fact No. 1!) stopped by AOL HQ last week, where we grilled him on "Game of Thrones" and all things Joe.

Here are a few more fast facts:

He's a serious athlete and has the gym to prove it

Before Naufahu turned to acting, he played rugby professionally for the Glasgow Warriors until suffering a knee injury. He then opened a gym in Auckland, Ludus Magnus.

"Sports are my passion. Train is like therapy for me. It keeps me sane, I guess. When I couldn't play rugby anymore, acting kind of filled the void for me in terms of having a passion."

He's a family man

The actor, who was the youngest of five kids, says he's learning to cook and garden with his "mum," and adores his two kids: Eva, 9, and Freddy, 6.

"I spend most of my time -- and I don't have much down time -- with my little ones. That's the hardest part of travel is missing them."

He binged season five en route to meet "GoT" producers

"I'll be honest, I watched up to season four, and then on my flight over, my first flight to have my meetings, I watched the whole season five on the plane because it's a 24-hour flight, he said.

Binging won't be an option for season six -- even his sister Claudia, who typically waits until the end to watch the episodes all at once, will be tuning in live to catch his performances.

He might not be getting naked on "GoT" but he's gone full-frontal before

We'll let the die-hard fans search for this one. The actor's first lead role in a Kiwi miniseries, "The Market," required him to strip down -- completely -- on his second day of shooting. The actor couldn't tell us if Khal Moro goes nude, but he did prep hard for his new role and buff Dothraki look.

"It was quite funny because I trained for this, but I wear armor and there's actually not that much nudity in my gear -- full-length pants, boots, armor and a medallion on my chest, so I probably could have eaten all those burgers and fries," he joked.

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