The creative path of Jason Momoa: from the Hawaiian Islands to the underwater kingdom

From the Hawaiian Islands to the world’s screens

Jason was born on August 1, 1979 on the distant Hawaiian island of Oahu. His parents were people of creative professions – his mother worked as a photographer, and his father was a famous local artist. It was the Hawaiian roots that gave the actor such a memorable appearance: island men are known for their height, and Jason, by the way, has a height of 193 centimeters. When Momoa was still very young, his parents divorced, and his mother took the boy to the town of Norwalk in the US state of Iowa.

From an early age, Jason showed remarkable abilities in sports, but unlike his peers who were fond of football, running or swimming, he preferred mountaineering, ax throwing and, like any real Hawaiian, surfing. After leaving school, he decided to devote himself to the study of marine biology and travel (the future role of Aquaman, of course, does not look at all random). In his student years, he traveled a good half of the world, and along the way he studied painting, languages, adopted traditions from monks of different religions.

During one of his trips to Japan, designer Takeo Kobayashi drew attention to the young man. He offered Momoa a modeling contract, and he accepted. After that, Jason built his modeling career for several more years, participated in beauty contests and at the same time worked part-time in small shops to provide himself with a livelihood.

Finally, in 1999, Momoa managed to break into filming a movie for the first time. Moreover, it was not just some little-known passing project, as is usually the case with novice actors, but one of the most popular American TV shows of that time – Baywatch. The competition for a place on the show was really huge, because 1,300 people applied for the role of the handsome lifeguard Jason Ionne.

The second role in the life of Jason was able to get only in 2003. The project was called “Seduced”. The film received lukewarm reviews from critics and audiences, but still took Momoa’s career one step further. In the same year, the actor added the most important feature to his image – long hair, which he sometimes twisted into dreadlocks.

In 2004, Jason was finally able to win the audience’s sympathy thanks to his role in the cult Stargate franchise. He played the brutal alien hunter Ronon Dex. The series aired for 5 years, from 2004 to 2009. After him, Momoa finally entrenched himself in the film industry and began his gradual path to the main roles in big Hollywood projects.

Why the world loves Jason Momoa

All of these films and TV shows certainly made Jason a sought-after rising screen star, but world fame came to him a few years later. Momoa’s first truly global role was Khal Drogo from the first season of Game of Thrones. The image of the harsh Drogo and his tragic fate sunk into the memory of the fans as the very reasons why the series gained such popularity already in the first season. Even after the death of his character, Jason was simply inseparable from the “Game of Thrones”: he appeared at all the premieres, interviews, informal meetings of the film crew. One of the main stars of the series, Emilia Clarke, says that Momoa becomes the soul of any of their parties:

“When Jason is in town, you know what’s going to happen. Every time he enters the room and says to me, “Can I still carry you in my arms? Yes I can”. Jason makes the band as happy as possible.”

However, along with the completion of his work on the Game of Thrones, a black streak began in Momoa’s career. For a long time he simply could not find a job, because everyone saw only Drogo in him, and in principle there are quite a few such roles. When he did manage to get an invitation, the film failed miserably at the box office, as was the case with the films Wolves and Debugging. In one of the interviews, Jason talks about this period of his life:

“Our family was really hungry then. I couldn’t find a job. You have no idea how difficult it is when you have a family and children, and you are completely in debt.

Momoa managed to get out of a difficult situation only in 2016, when a large studio Warner Bros. finally spotted him for the DC movie comic “Justice League” for the role of Aquaman. The actor himself believes that it suits him to play such good guys with a bad character, like Arthur Curry:

“Zack Snyder told me that he needed a character who wasn’t afraid to punch Batman in the face and who lived on the edge of worlds. And I thought – this is the first superhero from the islands: in tattoos, drinking beer and not shy about hitting Batman. I like to play good guys with a not so good reputation, I think this type attracts viewers.”

After the release of the crossover and solo film about Aquaman, Momoa has once again become one of the most sought-after brutal men of modern Hollywood. Let’s hope luck never runs out on him again.

What is Jason doing now?

The actor continues to actively develop his career in blockbusters. He recently starred in Denis Villeneuve’s Dune, an adaptation of Frank Herbert’s novel of the same name. He got the role of the bodyguard of the Atreides family, Duncan Idaho. The actor says that the scope of the filming of the picture simply struck him, he had never had to be part of something so big. The producers of the picture have already announced that the “Dune” will have a sequel, but whether we will see Jason in it at least in some form is still unclear.

Momoa also continues to work with DC. Already next year, he will return to the role of Aquaman in the film Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, and will also appear in future crossovers in the same universe.

And recently it became known that Jason will also join the Fast and the Furious franchise. The actor will appear in the tenth film of the line, which will be released in 2023. What role he will play is still unknown.

Jason Momoa’s personal life

Despite his powerful appearance and perky character, Momoa was not at all known as the hero of scandalous romantic stories. On the contrary, in life he showed himself only as a quiet, exemplary husband and family man.

The actor was in a relationship with actress Lisa Bonet for 17 years. True, they officially formalized the relationship only in 2017. Interestingly, Lisa is 12 years older than Jason, but this did not interfere with their romance. The couple have two children, whom Jason named in the Hawaiian manner – daughter Lulu Iolani and son Nakoa-Wulf Manakaupo. Unfortunately, earlier this year, Momoa and Bonet announced their divorce after so many years together.

At the recent Oscar ceremony, the paparazzi noticed Jason in the company of Kate Beckinsale, but to this day their relationship remains only a rumor. Momoa himself actively denies the connection between the two:

“This is madness. I just talked to a woman about her country, I was in England during the filming of Aquaman 2. Now everyone is asking, “Are you dating?” The answer is no!

Jason loves to spend his free time with children, go in for extreme sports and play the guitar. It is interesting that, even as a film actor, he categorically refuses to watch films more than the minimum necessary for work. Much more he appreciates literature, especially Japanese and French poetry. Jason also actively professes Buddhism and often visits temples in search of enlightenment.