Jason Momoa has reached the peak of Hollywood, starring in everything from blockbuster comic
book adaptations to indie cult hits. He brings a mix of affable charm, intense physicality,
and smoldering magnetism to everything he does.
Momoa came from humble beginnings working in retail before breaking into the entertainment
industry. His life has been a fascinating journey. Here's how he went from, quote,
"folding T-shirts in a surf shop" to headlining the billion-dollar "Aquaman" franchise.
Momoa was born in Hawaii and raised in small-town Iowa by his mother after his parents split when
he was a baby. He attended Norwalk High School during the school year and spent his summers
with his father's family in Hawaii. Growing up in two places with very different cultures
helped inform Momoa's performance as Aquaman, the half-human, half-Atlantean
king of the underwater nation of Atlantis.
"Their two worlds were never meant to meet.
And I was a product of the love that never should have been."
When Momoa was 19, he was working in a surf shop in Hawaii and as a model when he auditioned for a
lead role on "Baywatch Hawaii." He beat out 1,300 other candidates for the role of Jason Ioane,
a lifeguarding "prodigy" who moves to Hawaii from Galveston, Texas.
"Baywatch Hawaii" lasted for two seasons,
and Momoa had a hard time getting work after the show ended. He explained to Reuters,
"It took me five years to get an agent after 'Baywatch.' No one would take me seriously
because it was 'Baywatch.' I lived in the shadow of that for a long time."
Things changed for Momoa in 2004, when he landed a role on the Hawaii-set Fox
drama "North Shore," which lasted for one season. After that, he found steady work
playing military specialist Ronon Dex on the syndicated sci-fi series "Stargate Atlantis"
from 2005 to 2009. During that time, he began his relationship with his wife,
the iconic actress Lisa Bonet, whom he described to Esquire as his childhood crush.
In 2011, Momoa nabbed his first lead role in a major film, "Conan the Barbarian," which had
him going toe to toe with mythical monsters and an evil warlord. It didn't exactly set
the box office on fire, but his next role in the fantasy drama sensation "Game of Thrones"
made him a massive star. Momoa played Khal Drogo,
the brutish but honorable Dothraki king who marries Daenerys Targaryen and helps her begin
her quest to take back the Iron Throne. Momoa only appeared in 10 episodes of the series,
but his impact on "Game of Thrones" fans was much greater than his screen time would indicate.
Momoa co-wrote, produced, directed, and starred in 2014's "Road to Paloma,"
a thriller in which he plays a Native American man named Wolf on the run from the law.
For three seasons starting in 2016, he starred in and executive produced
the historical action drama "Frontier," about a half-Irish, half-Cree outlaw named Declan Harp,
who's challenging the Hudson's Bay Company's monopoly of the fur trade in 1700s Canada.
He also played a cannibal named Miami Man in the visually striking dystopian hidden gem
"The Bad Batch." In the action thriller "Braven," he played a logger fighting to protect his family
from drug traffickers. And in the recent drama series "See," he plays blind warrior Baba Voss,
who protects the first children born in centuries with the ability to see.
Momoa became a superhero standout, of course, as Aquaman, the tough but good-hearted king
of Atlantis and member of the Justice League. He briefly appeared as Aquaman
in 2016's "Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice" before reprising the role in "Justice League."
In 2018, his self-titled solo movie, became the highest-grossing DC Extended Universe movie,
earning more than $1 billion at the worldwide box office, according to The Numbers.
Momoa's next movie is the revenge thriller "Sweet Girl," which comes out on Netflix on
August 20. He plays Ray Cooper, a grieving widower who sets out to bring the powerful
people he holds responsible for his wife's death to justice. Against his wishes, his
teenage daughter Rachel joins him in his fight. Then, later in 2021, he'll play a major supporting
role in the much-anticipated sci-fi film "Dune" as Duncan Idaho, a legendary warrior. In 2022,
he'll pick up the trident again for "Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom," the second standalone "Aquaman"
film. Further down the line, he'll star in the fantasy comic book adaptation "Slumberland."
Jason Momoa found great success by being exactly who he is. He's gone from working
in a surf shop to designing his own signature surfboard. He's proven that anything is possible.
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