Many people first discover jason Momoa is Khal Drogo, a horseback, knife-wielding, ponytail, tattooed warrior from the hit fantasy series "Game of Thrones." But Momma lit up the screen long before he got that breakthrough role, and he's grown into one of Hollywood's best-known actors.
While Momoa's looks and hair have undergone impressive changes (in preparation for the long strands of hair and the man's bun in front), he also discusses the way he transformed and grown as an actor and a man. Despite his height and muscularity, he proved himself more than just a stuntman. Sure, Momoa's fantasies of being a strong, muscular, super masculine person captivate the audience, but as he explained in an interview with InStyle, he's struggled in recent years to bring his more vulnerable side to light. After announcing "I'm a warrior and I'll let it go," he also mentioned how he was "exploring the issue of male vulnerability," adding, "We both have a feminine and a masculine side and we need to embrace both." ”
From the children of Hawaii to the fans of surfboarding, to the blockbuster actors we know today, let's take a look at the transformation of the star of "Aquaman".
Jason Momoa is from Hawaii and has Aboriginal ancestry
Joseph Jason Namakaeha Momoa was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, in 1979 according to the Des Moines Register. His parents loved art. His mother was a photographer and his father was a painter and a marine biologist. They divorced shortly after he was born, and Momma moved to Iowa with his mom when she was 6 months old. However, he has a strong sense of identification with his Hawaiian ancestry, and spent most of his childhood returning to his birthplace to visit his father.
Momoa has been an avowed defender of Hawaii's environment, fighting to save a holy mountain from developers. He told CNN, "I think there are a lot of problems in Hawaii. A lot of things have happened in our history, a lot of injustices, so we're looking at it. People like me or Dawn Johnson, Bruno Mars, [are] trying to spread that awareness around the world. ”
From his mother's point of view, he has German and Irish ancestry, and from his father's point of view, he has Polynesian ancestry, dating back not only to Hawaii but also to Otrova or New Zealand. He explained to the press center: "Momoa's pedigree dates back nine generations from Hawaii, but we actually found out we were from Aotearoa – which means we left Hawaii, went to Aotearoa, and then came back." That's my route. ”
Growing up in Iowa wasn't always easy, but it taught him some lessons
I'm definitely the product of two very different worlds," Jason Momma told Very Stylish, describing his childhood. Although his mother was raised in Iowa, he also spent a long time in Hawaii, where his father lived, and described the difficulties of being seen as an outsider in both places. In his predominantly white Iowa town, he said he was bullied for being of mixed race. "I've been beaten a lot of times because I'm a little different — it's too rough." Then in Hawaii, "the locals thought he was a good guy from the mainland," the publication explains.
Despite the difficulties, he believes his upbringing in the Midwest countryside helped him put down roots in Tinseltown, especially in terms of his status as a sexual symbol. He wouldn't let it get into his head. "I didn't grow up that way, I grew up in the Midwest, and here's an example — you grow up to do your job. I didn't grow up in Los Angeles, I didn't have that mentality," he told Square Mile. He also believes that growing up as an only child of a single mother helps shape his personality, adding: "I think being raised by a single mother will make you more vulnerable and sensitive as an individual." I can be strong when I need to, but it's not my way. ”
The Beach Ambulance Corps was the beginning of his acting career
While It was reported that Jason Momma was originally a model, he later admitted that the credentials were made up by him to get his first acting job.
He is said to have been 19 years old and working at a surf shop when he heard about the public casting for Beach Ambulance: Hawaii. The casting director asked him if he had any experience, and he started making it up. "We were just a little bit of a jerk, and then I met some managers there: they made things up for me like 'Hawaiian Model of the Year,'" he explains to Square Mile.
Luckily for him, he played one of the main characters in Jason Ioane's final two seasons, "Beach Rescue Team: Hawaii," from 1999 to 2001. "I went from folding t-shirts in Hawaii to walking half-naked with really beautiful women, which was not bad at age 19," he told the Des Moines Chronicle.
While the role allowed him to change the trajectory of his life and pursue acting (he was studying to become a marine biologist before getting a performance), he struggled to find a job after the show. "I fell in love with the performing arts," he explained in an interview with Esquire. "But no one took me seriously. Beach Rescue Team isn't known for its... Known for the quality of the performances. I couldn't find an agent to save my life. ”
Stargate Atlantis was a learning experience for him
Arguably the most dramatic cosmetic change in Jason Momoa's career came between his appearance on "Beach Rescue" and his first appearance in the sci-fi series Stargate Atlantis, which aired on the SyFy network from 2004 to 2009. The series tells the adventures of "a new expedition" who travel to "the distant galaxy where Atlantis is located, where primitive human civilization is threatened by sinister enemies," according to Rotten Tomatoes.
The series quickly gained a sizable fan base, with actors including Momma becoming regulars at fan conventions. While the show doesn't really require elegant acting skills, Momma says his four-year tenure is a much-needed opportunity to learn the details of production. In an interview with Esquire, he reflected on the experience. "There I learned how to shoot, how to write, how to do it all. We produced 22 episodes in nine months. Day after day. machine. ”
He began dating his childhood crush in 2005
Remember falling in love with actors on TV as a kid and fantasizing about one day you'll grow up and meet them somewhere and they'll fall in love with you right away? For Jason Momoa, that fantasy became a reality when he started dating Lisa Bonet in 2005. In an interview with Esquire, he admitted: "[She] was literally my childhood crush. I mean, I didn't tell her. I didn't let her know I was a stalker until we were done having kids. ”
The fact that the couple married in 2017 after twelve years and two children made Momma exclaim: "If someone says something is impossible, I'll say, 'Listen, I'm married to Lisa Bonett.'" Probably,'" from Esquire.
Unfortunately, their game didn't last forever. In early 2021, they announced that they had broken up after 16 years of dating. In a statement on Instagram (via Vanity Fair) now deleted (via Vanity Fair), Momoa wrote, "We're all feeling the pressure and change in these eras of transformation ... A revolution is unfolding, and our family is no exception... So we share our family news... We are parting ways. We share this not because we think it's newsworthy, but so that we can do so with dignity and honesty in our lives. The love between us continues, evolving in the way it wants to be understood and lived. ”
His famous scar is the result of a 2008 bar fight
The gap in Jason Momoa's left eyebrow isn't a quirky style choice. It's a scar. In 2008, Momoa was involved in a very bad bar incident that he thought must have been "gang-initiated," he told Access. "It's crazy. A guy smashed a pint of glass in my face. I had over 140 stitches on my face. ”
At the time, NBC Los Angeles reported on the incident and reported that the man, a resident of Venice, California, was charged with "attacking with a lethal weapon" and said he did not plead guilty. It's unclear if he was convicted, but Momma doesn't seem to have much resentment towards the scars. "It helped [me] get those vile roles," he said in an interview with Access. Fans also did not complain. In fact, they liked the scar so much that they opened a Facebook fan page for it, calling it a "sexy scar."
2011 was an important year for the actors
When Jason Momma was named the lead character in Conan the Barbarian in 2011, he must have thought his long-awaited major breakthrough was coming. It turned out to be so, but not because of the box office disaster of Conan. At the age of 32, Momma finally made his first performance as the lead actor, but that didn't open the door he expected. "It's my first lead on anything, so I'm really excited to see it," he told Access. Unfortunately, audiences and critics are less excited about the new interpretation of the classic story. It was listed by the Hollywood Reporter as one of the "Top 10 Failures of 2011."
While "Conan" wasn't the huge success he had hoped for, Momoa did become one of the biggest shows in television history when he played the role of Khal Drogo in HBO's Game of Thrones that same year. To this day, this is the role that most people recognize for him. But even his breakthrough in Game of Thrones wasn't a big break. Despite the show's huge success, he said he was "starving" and "unable to find a job" after his character was killed in "GOT," according to InStyle. "I mean, where did you put Drogo?" He doesn't participate in romantic comedies. No one even knew I could speak English," he told Esquire.
Aquaman decided his fate as a movie star
After getting the role of Aquaman and finding his superhero success, Jason Momma felt he could finally breathe. "Once I knew I was playing the role of Aquaman... It's a lot of stress relief," he told Square Mile.
The character first appeared in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and director Zach Schneider needed someone who could compete with Superman's muscles and Batman's brooding countenance to break Aquaman's stupid perception. "Aquaman is often teased, zach is a big fan of Game of Thrones and he wants someone to come in so they don't make fun of Aquaman anymore," he said in an interview with BBC Radio 1. Momoa was a great fit, taking Aquaman to the next level, continuing to appear in the Justice League movie and "Aquaman" as well as upcoming sequels. According to Mental Floss, "Aquaman" is now "DC's highest-grossing film of all time."
He has become synonymous with superheroes and has even been involved in the story creation of the "Aquaman" sequel. "I came in with a big tone... The whole thing was mapped out and they loved it," he told Esquire, who was involved in the second solo film in the franchise. He strongly identifies with the character's connection to water and his outsider identity, making it easy to get involved in storytelling.
We will meet Jason Momma in the coming years
Dune, which premiered in 2021, is Jason Momma's latest blockbuster, but it certainly isn't his last. He has completed filming for Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, which is scheduled for release in December 2022. According to the deadline, he also has a western coming up called "The Final Hunt." Momma not only starred in the film, but also co-wrote and executive produced the film.
Netflix Film tweeted an upcoming film starring Momma, Slumberland, writing that it would be "a new adventure story about a quirky outlaw (Momoa) guiding a young hero (Marlow Barkley) through a secret dream world," set for release in 2022. Deadline also reported that Momma would star in a reboot of the 1993 film Cliffs, which was originally starred by Sylvester Stallone, though IMDb still labeled the project "pre-production."
Apparently, they will have no shortage of screen time in 2022 for Jason Momoa, and certainly in the coming years, as his star continues to rise.