He is a 6.5 feet tall man, with a brutal
beard and a scar on his face. A man who perfectly fits the role of a classic macho or
action hero of the 80s. The one who managed to make the most ridiculed comic book hero one
of the coolest and most popular characters in the DC Universe, and a pink scrunchie
an accessory worthy of the red carpet.
Jason Momoa (mə’mɔa) worked his way to
the top of Hollywood for a long time and stubbornly tried to go beyond the imposed
role to finally create a movie hero who earned more than 1 billion dollars per film.
Why doesn't he consider himself an actor? How does he raise children without gadgets? Why did
he rewrite the script of "Aquaman"? And what brought him to the rostrum of the United Nations?
Today, on the Biographer channel, we will get to know a man with the appearance of a Dothraki,
but the heart of a real good man. Let's go!
Childhood and youth
Joseph Jason Namakaeha (namaka’eɪa) Momoa was born on August 1, 1979 in Honolulu,
Hawaii (ˌhɒnəˈluːluː, həˈwaɪiː). His father is native Hawaiian Joseph Momoa, and his
mother, Coni Lemke (‘lemkɪ), has Native American, German and Irish roots.
Jason's parents are creative people, his mother worked as a photographer,
and his father was an artist.
Six months after the birth of the future Aquaman,
his parents divorced, and he and his mother moved to her hometown of Norwalk, Iowa (nɔːwɔːk,
ˈaɪəwə). Life in a family without a father was not easy: Jason's mother had to work several jobs to
provide for her son. He always remembers this with gratitude, calling his mother his superheroine.
But at work, she did not forget to spend time with her son. As Momoa recalls, his mother greatly
influenced him in all aspects of life. It was Coni who introduced him to skateboarding and rock
climbing, which became his lifelong love. Also, as a creative person, she taught Jason not
only to look at the world, but also to see it.
Inset quote: "I was raised by a strong single
mother. My mom's an artist in every way. She's a painter, a photographer. She's a wanderer,
always searching, always seeing. I guess you could say my mom gave me her eyes." (Jason Momoa)
Recalling his childhood, Momoa said that he was a "mama's boy" and was not at all like a cool guy.
At school, he was rather considered an outcast who could easily be shoved into a school locker.
He and his mother are still close. Coni often accompanies Jason on red carpets and regularly
appears in photos of his Instagram account.
Due to the fact that the actor's early youth was
spent in the province, where nothing happened, the future actor had to entertain himself.
That's how he learned to play street hockey - in the summer on rollers, and in the winter - on
skates. During these activities, in his opinion, he developed an iron grip and became "a
typical representative of the Midwest".
Despite his parents divorce, Jason continued to
communicate with his father. Joseph came to his son in Iowa, but was never able to get used to
the mainland: he was constantly drawn home to Hawaii. And from the age of 12, Jason began to
regularly visit his father on summer vacations.
It was his father who instilled in Momoa a
love for the ocean, which eventually led to his desperate struggle for the ecology of our planet
in the future. As a child, Jason wanted to study sea creatures and save the ocean from pollution,
so he intended to make it his profession.
Inset quote: "Even when I was a kid in
Iowa I took marine biology courses so I could do that as a profession, that was
my passion for the ocean. I think that's just from being Hawaiian" (Jason Momoa).
He also traveled to Florida twice during spring break in high school to
study endangered coral reefs.
Even though the region where Jason grew up
was landlocked, his school locker was always plastered with posters of surfers. Because of
this, the children at school made fun of him, because in that area no one dreamed of surfing.
Because of this, the boy really wanted to move to live with his father, but Joseph persuaded
his son to take his time with it. He noted that education should be obtained on the
mainland, because there were many more opportunities for this than in Hawaii.
Inset quote: "I told him, you need to go and gain all this knowledge, and
when you graduate you can come back here anytime you want. Hawaii is
always here. This is a place to rest, a place to gather your mind." (Joseph Momoa)
The fact that there was no father next to him in his childhood, Jason experienced
hard. He mentioned this, saying that his idols were always his uncles. And he
was even a little jealous of his cousins, because their dads were always there for them. And
that was exactly what he lacked with his father.
Momoa attended Norwalk High School and played
on the school's football team. It was because of playing football after high school that Jason
was offered a scholarship to Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado (‘dræŋgəʊ, kɒləˈrædəʊ).
But after considering the offer, Momoa ultimately turned it down. He was more interested in the
possibility of snowboarding and rock climbing. But he liked Colorado, so the young man moved
there and lived in Fort Collins (fɔːt ˈkɒlɪnz). To earn a living, he got a job as a waiter.
Everything changed when Jason saw “In God's Hands”, a movie about surfing. It was then that he
knew he needed to return to his father in Hawaii. Especially since his uncle Brian Keaulana
(kəʊ’lana) played in this movie. And his great-grandfather, Buffalo (ˈbʌfələʊ) Keaulana,
was actually one of the legends of surfing.
So, it was a great opportunity to learn to
surf, get even closer to his Hawaiian family, and… go to the University of Hawaii to pursue his
dream of ocean exploration. And he really entered the university to the faculty of marine biology.
But then the story took a slightly different path. As you can see, there was no mention of Jason's
interest in filmmaking and acting until the time of graduation. And it's not surprising, because
it wasn't really there. Momoa became interested in cinema only after receiving his first
role, which was by no means expected for him.
How did it happen that an ordinary guy with
no experience in front of the camera got a role on television? Even before the beginning
of acting, Momoa managed to start a career as a model. In 1998, he was noticed by the famous
fashion designer Takeo Kobayashi (kɔba’ɪaʃɪ) and invited to engage in the modeling business.
The guy was so interested in this work that he decided to drop out of university for it.
It must be said that this endeavor turned out to be quite successful for him - the very next
year he received the title of model of the year in Hawaii. After that, he also managed to work
as the host of the Miss Teen Hawaii contest.
Besides his modeling career, Jason worked
part-time at a surf shop owned by his family. It was then, in 1999, that people who auditioned
for the series “Baywatch Hawaii" came to the island. Momoa was one of those who came to
the casting and beat all his competitors to get the role of Jason Ioane (ɪ’ɔnɪ). Moreover,
as the actor recalls, he decided to try himself in a new role just out of nowhere.
Inset quote: "So I went down with all my cousins. We just wanted to meet chicks.
About 1,300 people showed up". (Jason Momoa)
Jason later recalled that at the casting he
had to wait for his turn for 7 hours, and also lied to get the role. He pretended that he had
significant achievements in the modeling business to cover up his lack of acting experience.
Inset quote: "I was like, "Yeah, yeah, I'm a big model. I do Gucci and Louis Vuitton,”
and I'm looking at my friend, and I'm like, “You did Prada, right?” And he's like “Yeah,
yeah, we did that in Japan”. So we were just kind of making it up on the spot." (Jason Momoa)
During filming in the series, Jason met the Australian actress Simmone Jade Mackinnon
(ʤeɪd mækkɪnən). The couple dated for 7 years and even got engaged in 2004.
But it never came to the wedding.
First steps in cinema
So, the first acting job for Jason Momoa was a role in a very famous TV series,
in the main cast of which he was for two seasons, until 2001. It would seem that this was a great
starting position to start a cool career, but in reality everything was a little different.
Inset quote: "I fell in love with the art of acting. But no one took me seriously. Baywatch isn't known for its . . . quality of
acting. I couldn't get an agent to save my life." (Jason Momoa)
Jason moved to California, where he had to live in a trailer and work as a
bouncer. He grew dreadlocks, bought an Airstream travel trailer and changed his image. "I was
kind of a vagabond," the actor recalled.
During that time, he appeared in
the television films Baywatch: Hawaiian Wedding and 2003's Tempted, and
made his big screen debut the following year with a role in Johnson Family Vacation.
The film turned out to be unsuccessful both from a commercial and critical point of view. And
Jason’s role was very small and inconspicuous.
He also had to work with advertising.
For example, in an unbuttoned shirt, passionately say odes to pizza.
In order to earn a living, Jason also worked as a stuntman. Since then, he does not take
his acting seriously. In every interview with him, you can hear how he speaks about each actor
with great respect. But not about himself. Sometimes he even calls himself more of a
stuntman than an actor in conversation.
In 2005, a very important event took place
in Momoa's life - he met his future wife, actress Lisa Bonet (bəʊ’neɪ). But for Jason, this
story began much earlier. As an 8-year-old boy, he saw Lisa, who was 12 years older than him,
on television in the sitcom The Cosby Show, and fell in love with her even then. Bonet was
20 years old at that time and she was married to the famous singer Lenny Kravitz.
Recalling this story many years later, the actor said that he had always wanted to
meet Bonet and even then, at the age of 8, he told his mother that she was his future wife.
Therefore, when the meeting with childhood love became a reality, she made
a huge impression on Momoa:
Afterwards, Jason talked Lisa into giving him
a ride home, and on the way they stopped at a coffee shop where Bonet ordered a Guinness.
For Momoa, who was a huge fan of this beer, this became an additional reason to fall in
love with this woman even more. Lisa learned that she was Jason's love since childhood only
after their children were born. The actor did not confess to his beloved before, because he was
afraid that she would mistake him for a stalker.
The meeting with Bonet led to Momoa's breakup
with his fiancee - according to rumors, they broke up in 2006. Lisa, at that time,
had long been divorced from Lenny Kravitz and was raising her teenage daughter,
the now-famous actress Zoë Kravitz.
In her interviews, the woman jokingly
said that the actor literally threw her over his shoulder and "pulled" her
into his life, like a real caveman.
Lisa remembers the story of
her acquaintance with Momoa:
Inset quote: “I can’t say it was full-on from
the moment we saw each other, but we have been together from the day that we met. […] In that
moment, love came and it came big, and he didn't run as I think a lot of men do." (Lisa Bonet)
In turn, courting the woman of his dreams, the man was very nervous. "You meet someone
you're completely infatuated with and then find out she's amazing, intelligent, and funny
and she's a goddess and you're a degenerate," he explained his excitement.
To win her heart, he joked, tried to make her laugh. "There were
no other options," Jason recalled.
At that time, Momoa continued to play
in series - soap opera “North Shore”, science fiction “Stargate Atlantis”, as well
as in the comedy drama “The Game”. 2000s for Momoa were not breakthroughs, he was just a good
series actor who had yet to reach new heights.
"Stargate Atlantis" the actor does not recall with
great admiration - he did not really like this work. But he starred in 78 episodes, because this
job gave a stable profit. According to the actor, he learned a lot there. "It was on the set
of "Stargate Atlantis" that I understood how the filming process goes, learned to write and
act. We made twenty-two episodes in nine months. Day after day. Like robots," he recalled.
It was during the filming of Stargate Atlantis, which took place in Vancouver (vænˈkuːvə), that he
became a father for the first time. In July 2007, he and Lisa Bonet had a daughter, Lola
Iolani. The birth began earlier than planned, so he almost missed it. After learning
that Lisa was giving birth, Jason immediately flew from Canada to Los Angeles.
Inset quote: "So I come barreling out of the terminal, like the Predator, like, 'GET OUT
OF THE WAY!' I'm running through the airport, and I get in the car. I go, like, 'Dude,
I don't care, run all the lights. . . I'll pay for everything.' And I made it in the nick of
time. I had about two hours with her in the tub, and my baby girl was born." (Jason Momoa)
The following year, the couple had a son, Nakoa-Wolf Manakauapo Namakaeha (Na-Ko-Ah Wolf
Mana-Ka-Ooh-Ah-Po Namma-Kay-Ah-Ha). As the actor's mother explained, Nakoa means "warrior",
and the second name symbolizes the bad weather that raged outside on the boy's birthday.
Since Momoa was raised without a father, it was extremely important for him to be a good
father to his children. Therefore, he pays great attention to the education of his daughter and
son, trying to spend as much time as possible with them. Together with Jason, the children are
engaged in his favorite activity - rock climbing.
Inset quote: "I absolutely love climbing and
encourage any parent to go experience it with their kids. That's what my mom did with me. […]
I would never teach acting, but the one thing I could teach is climbing. It gives us this
massive bond, and we go outside and do it. It's the ultimate thing for me." (Jason Momoa)
Momoa does not have TVs or other gadgets at home, and the children do not have phones. In
addition to the climbing wall, which the actor made himself, leisure activities
include skating, singing to the guitar, listening to records together, walking in
the local mountains together with pets - two half-malamute, half-wolf and a German shepherd.
In addition to dogs, a donkey named Freya and a huge snake lived in their home.
"And they read a lot" - the actor is sincerely surprised, because he does
not like this activity very much.
Lola and Nakoa often went
to work with their father, so he took a lot of instruments with him.
Moreover, the actor taught them eco-activism, talked about climate problems, and took
them on strikes to protect the environment.
Lisa supported him in this. In one of the
interviews, she said that their son considered the main goal of his life to be the protection
of Mother Earth. "My work (as a mother) is done," Bonet happily commented on her son's statement.
Jason was also very close to his stepdaughter, Zoe, and was on good terms with her father,
Lenny. Recalling Zoe's growing up period, Momoa said that when she was a teenager and
started bringing boys home, Lenny took it easy. Jason in his place would hardly have been able to
behave in the same way. In an interview in 2021, he admitted that he was anxiously waiting for the
moment when his daughter would have a boyfriend.
"I'm not going to do well with it,"
he admitted. "I'll just hate it if she brings home some dips**t bad boy”.
Regarding the big and formidable Kravitz, the actor was not lost either. Instead
of feeling insecure about the musician, he quickly befriended Lenny. And so much so
that men now call each other "ohana" - which means "family" in the Hawaiian language.
In honor of this friendship and as a sign of gratitude, Momoa gave the rock musician a
ring in the shape of a skull. And on holidays, the whole family often gathered at their
home in the suburbs of Los Angeles.
In his relationship with his wife, Lisa was
the main one. She always had the last word: as she said, so would it be. "My wife is very
sophisticated and smart and (our kids and I are) kind of like animals that need to be trained
a little better," he said. "I’m constantly a work in progress, and I’ve just been trying
to get better as a father and a husband."
That is why, according to the actor, their
house was conditionally divided in half. The best part of their house was occupied by
Bonet, Jason was left with his "man den". There, the actor had everything he loved: leather goods,
rare guitars, custom-made knives, Edison bulbs and vinyl records. "Goddesses belong up there," he
said, pointing his finger up. Then, lowering his finger down, he continued: "Dirtbags down here."
Lisa also spoke respectfully about her partner, calling him a "generous leader" and
noting that such a form of courage was a rare phenomenon for modern times.
Besides fatherhood, Jason continued to grow in his career. In 2010, he created his own production
company Pride of Gypsies, with the help of which in the same year he released his own short film
Brown Bag Diaries: Ridin' the Blinds in B Minor, where he not only acted, but also tried himself as
a director and screenwriter. The film had a good rating on IMDB - 8.4 points.
Breakthrough…?
For the first time, Jason Momoa began to be talked
about quite loudly in 2011, after his role in the fantasy series “Game of Thrones”, where he
played the cruel Khal Drogo (kaal drow·gow), the leader of the Dothraki tribe.
To get the role, Momoa had to pass an audition, during which he impressed the
casting directors with a performance of the haka, a traditional Maori dance often used to
intimidate the enemy. The actor recalled this in his interview for The New York Times:
Inset quote: “On “Game of Thrones,” [Drogo] doesn’t say much. So how do you convey him?
There's nothing in the script. …Then I did the Haka. It was challenging to do the audition
afterwards — I couldn’t stop my heart from beating. The first time I did it, they were very
scared. But then they wanted me to come back in so they could put it on tape." (Jason Momoa)
Momoa's partner in the series, who played his character's wife, was Emilia Clarke (klɑːk).
On screen, they were able to reproduce a wonderful chemistry, due to which some fans even
started gossiping about their relationship in real life. In fact, it was just a very strong
friendship that developed between the actors, which continued even after the end of filming.
Emilia always talks very fondly about Jason and the period of filming with him in Game
of Thrones. Their very first meeting gave the actress many happy emotions.
She also said that Momoa was very caring, always helping and supporting
her during the filming process, especially during the shooting of candid scenes.
Inset quote: "He took care of me in an environment I didn't know I needed to be taken care of
... He was so kind and considerate and cared about me as a human being." (Emilia Clarke)
Momoa was also by her side when she desperately fought for her life and underwent two
brain surgeries due to aneurysms.
"I've kind of been a part of that
whole situation for a very long time, so we've had so many scares and trying to find the
right way to come out and help," Momoa recalls.
For the role of Drogo, he also learned the
Dothraki language invented by the original book's author George Martin (ˈmɑːtɪn) and
linguist David J. Peterson (ˈpiːtəsən), who adapted the language for the series. The task
was not an easy one, but Jason managed to find a way to quickly learn Dothraki: he
memorized lines of dialogue like music.
Furthermore, the actor diligently gained weight
on a diet of his favorite beer and pizza.
In the end, Momoa succeeded both the language and
the whole role of a cruel barbarian perfectly. His character made a very formidable and frightening
impression on the viewer. A scar on his face, which cut his eyebrow in half, added a special
color to his appearance. It wasn't character makeup, the scar was real. Jason got it during
a brawl at the Birds Cafe in Hollywood in 2008. During the fight, the actor was hit in the face by
a broken beer glass. The injury was quite serious, and Momoa underwent approximately 140 stitches and
facial reconstruction surgery. The attacker was sentenced to 5 years in prison for his actions.
Despite the new career development, Momoa believed that the image of Drogo did not reveal his
full acting potential. “I mean, where do you put Drogo? He’s not going in a rom-com.
No one even knew I spoke English,” he said.
The same scene of violence, which was
discussed by the press and fans of the series, became a painful question. The media asked
the actor about it so often that over time Jason just started to get annoyed.
"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," Momoa explained.
Although Jason was in the main cast
of the series for only one season, he was remembered by the audience and gained real
world popularity. Did you like Drogo in Game of Thrones? What’s your favorite character
from the series? Write in the comments!
It seemed that after this breakthrough
there should have been a step to a new career opportunity, but instead, it was a
start of dark times in the actor’s life.
Rough patch
At the same time when the Game of Thrones was conquering the world, Jason
had another film released, which had every chance to become successful and breakthrough. He played
Conan in Marcus Nispel's (nɪspᵊlz) Conan the Barbarian, a remake of the 1982 cult film starring
Arnold Schwarzenegger. In the fight for the role, Momoa beat out Kellan Lutz (lʌts), the vampire
from Twilight. In preparation for filming, he completed a 6-week training program at the Los
Angeles Academy Of Movement Arts And Sciences.
"Conan" is considered the actor's first
starring role. And he got it by accident: even at the audition for "Game of Thrones",
during an impromptu hack dance, he was seen by Kerry Barden (bɑːdɛn) - Marcus Nispel's
casting director. Right from there he went to Marcus and declared, "I found you Conan."
After that, the actor was awaited by professional tests and numerous interviews with the management
of the Lionsgate studio. He was very nervous because he was constantly asked how exactly he
was going to play his character. The solution was found: remembering the same fight where
Jason received a beer glass on the forehead, he got so fired up that he impressed the crew
with his temper. "After cooling down a bit, I asked them: 'So, can I play Conan?'
Momoa really loved the very idea and image of the character of the glorious barbarian.
"Conan does what he wants, lives in the moment. He wanted to seize the throne, but in general he is
a vagabond, a pirate and a thief by nature. It's all very fun to play," he explained.
But at the same time, Jason wanted to build his character independently,
adding his own traits and vision.
Filming took place in Bulgaria, and in order to
do his job well, the actor had to train a lot. Especially considering that he performed about
80 percent of the stunts himself. Yes, Jason explained, he had good professional stuntmen. But
Conan had his own body language, a peculiarity of movements. And it was important to convey this.
Inset quote: “During the filming, I got bigger and bigger. It's very difficult to build
muscle and stay lean at the same time! Every two hours I ate boiled chicken breasts that
tasted like cardboard. Before filming began, I learned to fight with swords and lifted
weights for six hours a day for a whole month. I wanted him to be very nimble. It seems that we
managed to capture this cat-like way of moving."
The film had a rather large budget, 90 million
dollars, and was released on screens in 3D format. All this indicated the expectation of success,
but instead the film became a real disappointment. The box office gross was just under $49 million,
which was a failure. Critics also panned the film, pointing out that it concentrates too much
on unnecessary special effects, paying little attention to dialogue, characters and plot. As
a result, Conan holds a 25% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and an average rating of 4.3 out of 10.
Looking back on this film 10 years later, Momoa did not hide his disappointment,
admitting that it was not his best work.
Inset quote: "I've been a part of a lot of things
that really sucked, and movies where it's out of your hands. Conan was one of them. It's one of the
best experiences I had, and it was taken over and turned into a big pile of s***." (Jason Momoa)
But critics noted Momoa's performance: for the roles of Drogo and Conan, he won the
Male Rising Star nomination at the CinemaCon Awards 2011. But there was no further
transition to a new level after that.
Momoa's next work was the film Walter Hill’s
“Bullet to the Head” with Sylvester Stallone, which was released in 2012. Jason
played the role of the antagonist, the brutal killer Keegan in this film. The film
also flopped at the box office, grossing only $22.6 million on a $55 million budget. It also
received mediocre ratings, with a 45% on Rotten Tomatoes and an average score of 5.1 out of 10.
After such roles, Jason was firmly established as an action star, a tough guy with
big muscles but no acting depth. It is impossible to think that becoming a hostage
of such an image was his goal. Even in life, Momoa was always very far from the image that
the audience had of him after his roles.
Inset quote: "I may look big and tough, but I'm
not. I'm nothing like Khal Drogo. I'm not even the king of my own house! I'm absolutely
terrified of my wife." (Jason Momoa)
So, there were serious problems with getting the
desired roles. Momoa joked about that period in an interview, saying that because of the image of
the sinister Drogo, he had trouble finding work.
During this period, the actor worked on the
Canadian horror films “Debug” and "Wolves”, which were released in 2014 and did not
receive positive reviews from either the audience or critics. He also appeared in two
episodes of the comedy series “Drunk History”.
At the same time, Jason was looking for himself
outside of acting, trying his hand as a director of the dramatic thriller “Road to Paloma”. He also
became a co-author of the script and a producer of the film. And he played the main role in it,
the Native American and criminal Robert Wolf, who is hiding from the law because of the
murder of his mother's rapist. Along with him, Lisa Bonet starred in this film, in
a role that Momoa wrote with her in mind. The film tells about the injustice of
American laws regarding what is happening in the reservations of indigenous people.
Inset quote: "This was what I wanted to do. We did this with several of my friends and in the
can it cost about $250,000. We went and shot it, we lived in the dirt and made art. It was one of
the greatest times of our lives." (Jason Momoa)
Momoa's directorial debut received mixed
reviews from critics and an average rating of 5.5 out of 10. With a budget of $600,000,
the film grossed 937,000 at the box office.
Looking for something more serious, Momoa
starred in the drama series “The Red Road”, where he played the criminal Phillip Kopus
(‘kɔpəs). He was able to pass the casting for this role largely thanks to "Road to Paloma",
which he showed to the producers of the series, Bridget Carpenter (ˈkɑːpɪntə) and Aaron Guzikowski
(gʊzɪ’kɒvskɪ). The series was well received, with an average rating of 6.9 out of
10 and a 65% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, but the ratings did not satisfy the producers
and the show was canceled after 2 seasons.
In 2014, Jason Momoa starred in another thriller
“Sugar Mountain", which was released only at the end of 2016. At the same time, the historical
series “Frontier” starring Momoa was released on Netflix. The series tells about the
fur trade in colonial Canada in the 18th century. Jason plays the brutal trapper Declan
Harp (hɑːp). There were 3 seasons of the show. The first one had mixed reviews, but critics
noted Momoa's strong performance. He was even nominated for The Canadian Screen Award for Best
Actor in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role.
This period was very difficult for the actor,
because he could not make the films he wanted, and the presence of a family with small children
forced him to take any work in the cinema.
Inset quote: "I mean, we were starving after
'Game of Thrones'." I couldn't get work. It's very challenging when you have babies,
and you're completely in debt. [...] I worked for a very long time when they
[kids] were young doing sh*t I didn't want to put food on the table". (Jason Momoa)
But all this long and difficult path had to be passed, because in the future he would
get the role that he could hardly even hope for.
Aquaman
It all started with a cameo in Zack Snyder's
film “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice”. Jason got the role of Aquaman in June 2014.
The actor recalled this moment as follows:
One of the reasons why Jason agreed to
the filming is the image of a superhero who fights for the ecology of the oceans, which
resonated very much with his life principles. This impressed him so much that Jason,
not looking particularly at the contract, agreed to participate in four parts at once. It
didn't matter how many years it would take.
A brief appearance in the film of the DC Universe
eventually grew into a full-fledged franchise exclusively about Aquaman. But before that,
it was still necessary to wait several years, and in the meantime, Jason continued to play
in less significant films. But now he at least was in the company of very famous actors.
For example, in 2017, Jason starred in Mark Cullen's (k-UH-l-uh-nz) film “Once Upon a
Time in Venice” with Bruce Willis. Here, Momoa played Spider, the leader of a gang
of drug dealers. The film received poor reviews from critics and grossed less than
$1 million at the international box office.
His next work was Ana Lily Amirpour's
(ə’mɪə’pɔː) film “The Bad Batch”, a dystopian thriller starring Suki Waterhouse
(ˈwɔːtəhaʊz). In this film, Momoa worked with such famous actors as Keanu Reeves, Jim Carrey and
Giovanni Ribisi (rɪ’bɪzɪ). The movie participated in the Venice International Film Festival, where
it was nominated for the "Golden Lion" as the best film and received the Special Jury Prize.
Momoa's first full appearance in the DC Universe was in 2017's Justice League. This film
was also shot by Zack Snyder (snaɪdə), and the cast included all the main stars: Ben
Affleck (æflək), Henry Cavill (kɛvɪl), Gal Gadot (gə’dɔt) and others. With a budget
of 300 million dollars, the film earned almost 660 million dollars at the box office.
The movie release was accompanied by scandals, because Zack Snyder was forced to leave the
project for personal reasons during the shooting. Because of this, one of the screenwriters,
Joss Whedon (wi:dn), was preparing the film for release. He quite seriously redid the
picture, and what appeared on the screens did not satisfy many fans. After that,
Whedon was also accused by some actors of abuse of power, rudeness and even threats.
The story with Ray Fisher (ˈfɪʃə), who played Cyborg, gained the most publicity. The actor
accused the director of downplaying his role and removing a large number of scenes with
his character from the film. Jason supported his colleague by posting on social media.
He noted that the situation with Fisher and everything that happened during the
filming had to be carefully investigated.
Some scenes with Momoa telling Aquaman's
backstory were also removed from the final film version. Many fans were disappointed by
this, but Jason took it with understanding.
Inset quote: "The whole Atlantean part,
about me being this reluctant king. There was no need for it because you're going to
see it in Aquaman. It's not an Aquaman movie, it's a Justice League movie." (Jason Momoa)
In general, the film received rather mediocre reviews from critics. They noted the
good acting and the fight scenes, but pointed out the weakness of the plot. On
Rotten Tomatoes, its rating was 68%. As for Momoa, the character played by him was considered
by many to be one of the best discoveries of this film, revealing Aquaman in a new way.
In October 2017, after 12 years of relationship, Jason married Lisa Bonet. This came as
a surprise, because most people believed that they became a couple back in 2007. The
ceremony was secret, only the closest people were invited to it. But the secret quickly
became known to everyone, as someone leaked information about the wedding to the media.
Inset quote: “Some a**hole leaked it. […] You know what, I've been married to my wife for 12
years. It's just a gathering of our families and celebrating our love." (Jason Momoa)
After the role in the high-profile franchise, Momoa again took up the creation of his own
project. In 2018, he released the thriller “Braven”, in which he played the lead role and
also acted as a producer. His company Pride of Gypsies was involved in the issue. The movie
tells about a woodcutter who lives in a hut far away in the mountains and has to protect
his family from a group of drug dealers. The thriller received positive reviews from critics:
on Rotten Tomatoes, its rating was 77%. The audience rated the film even higher: by 80%.
In the same 2018, Aquaman, directed by James Wan (wɑːn) was finally released. Stars such as
Amber Heard (hɜːd), Willem Dafoe (dəfəʊ), Nicole Kidman (kɪdmən), Dolph Lundgren (lɵŋɡɾeːn)
became Momoa's partners on the set.
Jason had a lot of fun on the film set: as he
later admitted, almost all of his colleagues, except for Nicole Kidman, became victims
of his pranks. For example, Amber Heard, who played Mera, Aquaman's lover, recalled
working with Momoa on the set like this:
After his role in Justice League, there was no
doubt that Momoa was the right choice for Aquaman. The actor, who grew up combining life between
the island of Hawaii and the mainland of Iowa, like no other managed to embody the image of
Aquaman, who belonged to two different worlds: human and underwater. He looked like he was
born for the role, despite the fact that he looked nothing like the comic book character.
Aquaman appeared in the comics back in the 40s, but was not as popular as other heroes. On
the contrary, he was more often ridiculed and thought that his powers were not
very helpful in saving the world.
And the fact that Arthur Curry (ˈkʌri) was
not a very interesting character for the public made it possible to build his story
in films almost from scratch. Zack Snyder, who chose Momoa for the role of Aquaman, gave
him complete freedom in creating the character, allowing him to freely interpret his role.
James Wan offered him the same, allowing Jason to shape the image of his hero himself.
His Aquaman was not at all like the Arthur Curry from the comics, who was portrayed as
very serious and regal. Momoa's character, on the other hand, was a more down-to-earth, fun
guy who doesn't take himself too seriously and likes to drink beer at the bar. Jason's
tattoos also became an important part of Aquaman's image - they decided not to remove
them, but rather to leave them in the film.
The director also reworked the character's
backstory and generally worked on the film using an approach that was not
typical of superhero films.
Inset quote: "My template [for 'Aquaman'] wasn't
other superhero films. My template was more like traditional adventure-fantasy films or
coming-of-age stories, rite of passage and all of that kind of stuff." (James Wan)
The film received rather positive reviews from both viewers and critics, but its best assessment
was a resounding success at the box office. The movie, with a budget of up to 200 million
dollars, grossed more than 1 billion worldwide, making it the highest-grossing of all DC heroes.
Not bad for the most mocked character in comics, right? Aquaman also won the 2019
Chinese American Film Festival as the most popular American film in China.
The actor admitted that he was very impressed by the film's success. He was sure that in his
past there were many wonderful projects that had not been properly appreciated. But he does not
work for world recognition. "I don't go do things and think, Oh, I'm gonna get $1 billion on this
one. I go in and do my best job,” he explained.
For Jason, the role of Aquaman was not only
an opportunity to show himself in a big movie, but also allowed him to convey quite important
things to the world through his character. A childhood fascination with the ocean and its
inhabitants helped Momoa understand all the harm humanity is doing to them. Therefore, like
his character, who became the protector of the underwater world, Jason started a whole campaign,
the goal of which was to draw attention to the problem of pollution of the world's oceans.
Inset quote: "Aquaman is the most made-fun-of superhero in the world. But it's amazing
to be able to bring awareness of what is happening to our planet. It's not some
story that's been told over and over, [it's a] movie about what's happening right
now but in a fantasy world." (Jason Momoa)
Momoa is very serious about eco-activism. He
is especially concerned about the problem of using single-use plastic, which pollutes
the planet by getting into the ocean. To help solve this problem, he started the
business of releasing Mananalu water in recyclable and reusable aluminum bottles.
"We're just killing our planet. We're choking our planet out. Why the f**k are you drinking
out of a plastic bottle of water?” he said.
Momoa also created the company On the Roam, which,
in collaboration with the clothing brand So iLL, is engaged in the production of clothing for
outdoor activities. Among their creations, for example, are ecological
vegan sneakers made of algae.
As a native of Hawaii, Momoa is also active
in protecting the nature of his home island. The actor took part in protests against the
construction of a telescope on top of Mauna Kea ([MOW] + [NUH] + [KAY] + [UH]), which
is considered sacred to Hawaiians. Other celebrities who supported the protesters included
actor Dwayne Johnson (ˈʤɒnsᵊn) and singer Bruno Mars (mɑːz). Protests eventually gave results,
the construction of the telescope was canceled.
But one of his most important achievements
was a speech at a meeting of the United Nations dedicated to small island states. Momoa
talked about the disaster for the islands caused by the activities of the so-called first world
countries: emissions that lead to climate change and ocean pollution. All this can eventually lead
to the disappearance of small island countries, and eventually to the destruction of
the nature of our planet in general.
In an interview, he recalled how nervous he was
during his first performance. It was scary for Momoa to stand in front of the whole world, in
front of his own children, who were looking at him. "I couldn't chicken out of it and try to do
some fake stuff. I practice what I preach. Get up there, say what's important, and fight," he said.
In 2022, Momoa was appointed Advocate for Life Below Water under the UN program,
which once again emphasized his significant contribution to the protection
of the marine environment of our planet.
Inset quote: "With this designation, I hope
to continue my own journey to protect and conserve the ocean and all living things on our
beautiful blue planet, for our generation and the generations to come." (Jason Momoa)
Momoa wanted to highlight the problem of environmental threats in the Aquaman sequel,
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. Together with Brian Mendoza (men-DOE-za), he wrote more than 50 pages
of the film script, but the studio did not want to follow him, which greatly disappointed the actor.
Since 2019, he has starred as Chief Baba Voss in 3 seasons of “See”, released on Apple TV+.
This dystopia tells about a post-apocalyptic world of the distant future, where
people have lost the ability to see.
They say that the filming of the pilot series cost
Apple approximately 15 million dollars, which is the most expensive pilot in the history of
television according to the actor's version. It's a controversial statement, but Jason
is proud of the project and it shows in his words. Momoa plays one of the chieftains
of the tribe who remained alive after a terrible epidemic. In the series, he is dressed
in skins, carries a cane and a samurai sword.
In order to play a character who lives in a
world where sight is officially forbidden and equated to witchcraft, the actor lived in
a sleeping mask for several weeks. He also consulted one of the project coordinators, who
was visually impaired from birth. "It's amazing how differently you begin to feel your body," says
Jason. "Other senses are awakened - touch, smell, hearing, to some extent even echolocation."
During the same period, Momoa produced the action-thriller “Sweet Girl", in which he played
the lead role, and the documentary “Gather”, which told the story of the indigenous peoples
of the United States trying to restore their traditional ways of eating and cooking. The latter
was well received and noted as raising important global issues. It also won Best Documentary at
the Red Nation Film Festival Awards in 2020.
Momoa also did not forget about his family.
In 2019, on Father's Day, he released a video in which he told how he and his children
assembled a Harley-Davidson from scratch. It was his long-time dream, from the moment when
he, as a young 19-year-old boy, bought a broken engine to later assemble a motorcycle from it.
He had to wait 20 long years for this dream to come true. And it ended up being something
really special, because Jason managed to do it together with his children. This made
Harley a real family heirloom, which Momoa plans to pass on to his son in the future.
In August 2020, he gave his beloved wife an incredibly romantic gift that he had
been preparing for 14 long years. Momoa managed to completely restore Lisa's car,
which she had when she was 17 years old: a beautiful 1965 Ford Mustang convertible.
Inset quote: "I know we can't relive a memory, but maybe we can rebuild one. This
is a big dream come true because this was my wife's first car." (Jason Momoa)
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New horizons
After the huge success of Aquaman, Momoa finally got the opportunity to do something in the
movies that was previously unattainable for him.
He began to be offered roles in
more interesting projects for him, where he could work with well-known masters, such
as in 2019, when Momoa received an offer from director Denis Villeneuve (vɪlnɒv) to star in his
new film “Dune” as Duncan Idaho (ˈaɪdəhəʊ). Momoa, who called Denis one of his favorite directors,
was shocked and intimidated by the prospect of working with him and so many famous actors. But,
of course, he couldn’t refuse such a rare offer.
During an interview with the editors of Men's
Health, Denis admitted that he offered Jason Momoa the role without much thought: "I immediately
decided that Jason would be perfect for his role. Like Duncan Idaho, Jason has a crazy charisma
that draws people to him like a magnet. Momoa is a natural element, he is larger than life"
For Momoa, signing a contract to participate in the film was a huge event and he
was terribly worried. "I've never been so nervous before," Jason said.
Among the actor's partners on the set, besides Timothée Chalamet (ʃala’meɪ), was the
Oscar winner Javier Bardem (xaˈβjeɾ βaɾˈðen), from working with whom Momoa had very vivid memories.
Inset quote: "We were sitting at this table, and the scene is all about Javier walking into
the room. I've never seen someone strut into a room like such a boss. He just comes right
up to this table and stares everybody down. He's glaring at everyone else but giving me a
little bit of a twinkle, and I'm just giggling inside because I can't believe I'm at
this table right now." (Jason Momoa)
Other actors noted that Jason's energy played
a huge role in creating chemistry between them all on set. Villeneuve and Chalamet
talked about his positive attitude, which constantly energized others, creating
a fun, sociable atmosphere on the set.
"Jason inspires a collective spirit in everyone
around him," says Timothée Chalamet. “He sincerely enjoys the process of shooting the film and
shares this joy with the rest. He revels in the sense of friendly mutual assistance in the
team during filming, and therefore it is great to be around him, especially for novice actors."
Villeneuve had similar feelings in the presence of Momoa: "Jason has an extremely contagious
form of positive attitude towards life. When he appeared on the set, we physically felt
the wave of energy emanating from him."
Dune managed to collect 402 million dollars at the
box office and was received very warmly by critics and audiences. The film received many awards and
nominations, including Academy Awards, Golden Globe Awards and British Academy Film Awards.
Momoa's next work was the fantasy adventure film “Slumberland” directed by Francis Lawrence
(ˈlɒrəns). The actor got the role of Flip, a cute swindler-robber who accompanies the
main character. For Momoa, it was the first opportunity to try himself in a comedic
role. And, although the film received not very favorable reviews from critics, Jason
was liked by the audience, who noted that his character turned out to be very funny.
After watching the movie the actor noted:
Inset quote: "I've got to tell you, to play in
this role really unlocked a lot of things for me. I actually got to watch it with my children
yesterday and with Marlow and her family. It's weird when you tear up watching your own stuff.
It blew me away, and I was just so emotional. This role just let me really be free, and
the character is so fun." (Jason Momoa)
His children were with him on
the set, and not only had fun, but also helped the filming process.
"We were there for most of the time. It was incredible”, Lola Momoa recalled. “Me
and my friends choreographed a dance routine to 'Don't Start Now' by Dua Lipa, and my dad
loved the dance so he put it in the movie»
The actor is not ashamed to show himself in public
and look funny. So, during Jimmy Kimmel's show, he undressed while performing "sex tasks",
opened a can of tuna with his biceps, and smeared himself with disinfectant.
There is no need to say about the actor's way of ironing his clothes, it's better to look:
Continuing to work as a producer and screenwriter, Momoa released The Last Manhunt in 2022.
The movie reinterprets the real Western story of the thief Willie Boy from the
point of view of Native Americans.
Moreover, the actor has continued to expand
his acting range, taking on roles that are unlike the stereotypical male characters he
has played in the past. Masculinity in film is beginning to be re-examined and changed,
which opens up opportunities for Momoa as well. He has always been an advocate that there
is nothing wrong with loving the pink color, being a sensitive man, not being afraid to cry.
Inset quote: “It’s been hard because people always think I’m just this dude who plays
[macho characters]. "But I want to be moved, I want something new. Things are
changing, and even the villain roles I'm playing now are eccentric." (Jason Momoa)
Despite his brutal appearance, with a long beard and immense shoulders, Momoa challenges the
modern idea of masculinity and shows himself as a progressive man. “I may look big and tough,
but I'm not. I'm nothing like Khal Drogo. I'm not even the king of my own house! I'm absolutely
terrified of my wife,” the actor once said.
He does not think that it is necessary to hide his
emotions, and he can easily tell how he cried on his daughter’s 13th birthday, or how he regularly
communicates with his aumakua (ɒma’kʊə) - the Hawaiians call it the spirit of their ancestors.
Courage also extends to the choice of films.
That was the role he played in the 10th film of
the cult Fast and Furious franchise directed by Louis Leterrier (lwi lɛtɛʁje). Jason had seen
the first and fifth films in the franchise and thought they were pretty cool. But he agreed to
participate in the project on his own terms. "I talked to Vin and said, 'Yo, Daddy-o, I'm
here to support you, but I'm going to do it my way. I'm going to be a bad man, and you're
going to want to take me out!'” he recalled.
His Dante Reyes (ˌriːˈjɛs) drives a lilac
car and paints his toenails pink and purple, defying the typical masculinity
of movie villains of the past.
Momoa says that Leterrier and Vin Diesel
(ˈdiːzᵊl) respected and supported his "weird and bold" choice, pushing him to explore more of the
character. "Jason brings the humor, the panache, so much pink, purple, and fuchsia, beautiful
silk, and he's not afraid to improvise and take risks," Letterier says. "He's also a fantastic
action actor—he will perform all his stunts, he will ride his bikes, he will drive his cars,
he will sing his own songs. He’s just a force.”
Whether he succeeded in this image is a
question for the audience. You can share your impressions about Jason’s character
in the comments if you watched this movie.
By the way, about pink. The actor openly declares
that this color is very important to him and is not ashamed to remove his lion's mane in a
ponytail with the help of a pink scrunchie, especially noting to the inquisitive press that
this is his accessory. It was in it that Jason appeared at the premiere of the final season of
"Game of Thrones", which blew up the Internet.
And in 16 years, he changed 55 pink Cadillacs,
and recently his brand So iLL started producing pink face masks. The actor explains his
love for the delicate color as follows: "Pink lowers testosterone, soothes. I have
many different things in this color. I do not know why. Pink is just a beautiful color."
Since Momoa is a huge fan of motorcycles, it was a real pleasure for him to drive around the streets
of Rome at breakneck speed on a Harley while filming another movie of The Fast and the Furious.
Therefore, despite the presence of a double, he performed some scenes on a motorcycle himself.
Inset quote: "Jason brings the humor, the panache, so much pink, purple, and fuchsia, beautiful
silk, and he's not afraid to improvise and take risks. He's also a fantastic action actor—he will
perform all his stunts, he will ride his bikes, he will drive his cars, he will sing his own
songs. He's just a force." (Louis Leterrier)
After receiving mediocre reviews from critics,
it was more positively received by the audience.
In January 2022, the actor shocked society with
the news of his divorce from Lisa Bonet, after 17 years of marriage. According to an anonymous
source, they had different visions for the future, with Jason wanting more movement and travel, while
Lisa wanted to settle down and spend more time at home. But they remained friends, who continue to
talk and spend time together with the children, as they did during the 2022 Christmas break.
After the divorce from Bonet, there were rumors about Momoa's relationship with actress Eiza
González (ɡɒnˈzælɛz). But according to sources, there is nothing serious between them,
they are just having fun together.
Moreover, the actor was credited with
a relationship with Kate Beckinsale (bɛkɪnseɪl) after he gave her his jacket at the
Oscars. But Jason denies the relationship. "It was crazy," Jason told "Extra" about the
rumors of their romance. "Talk to a woman about her country... I was in England filming
Aquaman 2." Everyone's like, "Are you dating?" No no. It was just an act of chivalry, the woman
just froze. …“I was very kind, just a gentleman. Now I will not give my coat to anyone!”
The actor is currently working on a project that has been his dream for a long time,
but only became a reality now that he has more opportunities thanks to Aquaman. Chief of
War is an 8-episode miniseries for Apple TV+ that tells the story of the unification of the
Hawaiian Islands in the 18th and 19th centuries, based on the true story of Hawaiian
Chief Ka'iana. Jason stars in it, and also acts as a director and producer.
In an interview, he admitted that he wanted to tell this story for a long time. But he
had to wait until his career reached the right level. During the interview, he called
it “holy grail,” “my baby,” and “my dream.”
For Momoa, this project became a true tribute
to his people, the indigenous tribes, from whom everything was taken, starting with their
language. And now he is trying to return to them, to rebuild the destroyed bridges. The first two
episodes of the series were filmed exclusively in the Hawaiian language, which is also
very important, because the majority of the population of Hawaii does not even speak it.
It is the largest Indigenous TV series ever produced. The show is written by Hawaiians and
most of the cast is Hawaiian and Polynesian.
Inset quote: "I never thought it would be
this big. It's the hardest, most challenging, most demanding thing I've ever done. It's the last
big dream I have left. Everything else is just kind of 'actor for hire,' but this is my homage
to my people. We have so many beautiful stories in Hawaii that no one knows about. All I care about
is just doing right by my people." (Jason Momoa)
Now Jason Momoa feels in his place: he has
a wonderful family and many close people. He lives in Oakland (ˈəʊklənd), nesting in a duplex
warehouse surrounded by the things and people helping him be creative: his own kettlebells
and boxing gear, his vinyl, his guitars, his mountain bikes, his vintage Land Rover,
and a fridgeful of packs of poi (a Polynesian snack made from taro root, bananas, or pineapple
mixed with coconut cream) and cans of Guinness, plus a chef, a trainer, a Hawaiian-language
teacher, and a squad of artistic collaborators he's worked with for years at his
production company, Pride of Gypsies.
Moreover, the actor is constantly looking for new
ways to show his entrepreneurial spirit. In one way or another, he has something to do with the
production of nylon surf pants, pink wetsuits and climbing bags, hiking backpacks, handmade knives
and reusable water bottles. Mananalu Pure Water, created by the actor - a brand of aluminum
bottles that are completely recyclable.
And also, in collaboration with the already
mentioned brand of sports shoes So iLL, he tries to draw attention to the advanced
technologies used by the company.
He is engaged in important work, drawing public
attention to the environmental problems of our planet. Also, Jason Momoa worked hard to
reach the peak of his career and now he can finally afford to do what he really likes.
Inset quote: "It's really cool to be up here as an actor, but this is not what I wanna do for
a living. It's just a moment in time. I want to go back to making art, to painting,
to writing, you know, raising a family, and then making significant environmental changes.
I'll do movies just to entertain." (Jason Momoa)
His name finally became a guarantee of a
green light for the project. Now he has the power and opportunity to speak
about what he thinks is important.
Aquaman, like Khal Drogo before him, became
Jason's ticket to a better future. It is not yet known what will happen next for his superhero in
the DC universe after the release of the 2nd film, but we are sure that the actor will fit
perfectly into any superhero story.
What new challenges await Jason?
We will probably find out soon.
He admits: acting is not the only thing
he wants to do in life. There is art, painting, and writing. And of course -
the expansion of activities to protect the interests of the planet.
We hope we've shown you a slightly different side of Jason Momoa. And if you
also want to discover something interesting about other celebrities, click on the icons
that appeared on your screen to see our other videos. Also like this video if you enjoyed
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