MAKES A SPLASH!
A few years ago, he was broke. Now he’s Aquaman. The new superhero opens up about surviving career struggles, diving into stardom and loving his blended family with wife Lisa Bonet
Ayear ago, Jason Momoa wasn’t exactly an A-list name in Hollywood. There were of course Game of Thrones fans who knew him as Khal Drogo, the fearsome Dothraki warrior king from the show’s first season, and others who recognised him as the longtime partner of Cosby Show actress Lisa Bonet, 51. But when the Hawaiian-born actor, 39, was cast as the star of DC Comics’ newest franchise, Aquaman, a new superhero – and a new superstar – was born. “I’m in a nice place right now with my career,” Momoa says with an easy laugh. “I’m sure it will go up and down, you never know. But I’ve been doing this for so long, and it wasn’t just handed to me. I’ve worked really, really hard to get where I’m at now.” After almost two decades as a working, sometimes struggling actor, the rugged 6ft 5in (195cm) father of two finally has a role as big as he is. But landing Aquaman came as a shock.
“The first thing that flashed in my head was, ‘Blond, shaven, orange Spandex,’” he
“I’ve worked
really, really
hard to get
where I’m at”
says of the character’s original look. “I was like, ‘I’m not seeing it, buddy.’ But, “They wanted to really re-imagine this whole character. They took my [forearm] tattoo and put them everywhere and wanted my hair to be big.” Director James Wan also trusted Momoa’s vision of Aquaman’s personality. Momoa says, “I wanted him to be a cross between a blue-collar worker with a little bit of Slash. I wanted him to have that rock and roll pizzazz.” Getting to superhero status has
been a long road for Momoa, who was born in Honolulu to dad Joseph Momoa, a native Hawaiian painter, and mum Coni, a photographer of German and Irish ancestry. His parents split when he was young, and Momoa, an only child, was raised primarily in Iowa by his mum. She put him into school early to avoid the extra cost of childcare.
“I was only 16 or 17 when I graduated from high school,” he says. His age and distinctive look made him a target for bullying. “When you don’t have a lot of race [diversity] going on there’s not a lot of different opinions and views on the world. I met a fair amount of a--holes.” That experience helped him connect deeply with
his Aquaman character Arthur, a half-human, half-atlantean who finds himself trapped between worlds. “I can definitely relate to being a half-breed. Coming from Hawaii and Iowa – they are two totally different planets,” he says. “I love and respect both places.”
After getting gigs as a model, Momoa turned to acting, landing roles on Baywatch: Hawaii and Stargate: Atlantis. But work wasn’t always steady. “I couldn’t even put food on the table,” he says of life as recently as two years ago. “We were literally so broke.” And though Game of Thrones gave him a little taste of wider fame, it wasn’t the career push he imagined. “What do you do with Drogo?” he says of the stoic, nasty-tempered warrior. “You don’t put him in a comedy. You’re not hiring him to play your best friend.”
One thing Momoa says he could always rely on was the unwavering support of his now-wife Bonet, with whom he’s spent the last decade living in Topanga, Los Angeles (they started dating in 2005 and married in 2017). Bonet stayed home to raise their daughter Lola Iolani, 11, and son Nakoa-wolf Manakauapo Namakaeha, 10, while Momoa “went out to go pay for our life,” he says.
“My wife is amazing. Her ultimate art form is being a phenomenal mother.” She’s also mum to actress Zoë Kravitz, 30 ( her daughter with ex-husband Lenny Kravitz), who’s close to Momoa and her half-siblings. Fatherhood “is real love,” says Momoa. “Seeing them grow, learning from them, teaching them … it’s just the greatest thing in the world.” When it’s just him and Bonet, “My wife and I love to go to flea markets. We like getting little trinkets and shopping for antiques,” he says. “Not a lot of people know how absolutely hysterical she is. She makes me laugh and is just really quirky. We are a perfect fit.”
As Momoa travels the world promoting Aquaman – a massive box office success since opening in the US on Dec. 21, with sequels to come – he’s starting to get a sense of just how much his life is changing. “It got a little scary at the airport recently,” Momoa says. “Everyone in the customs line turned to look at me. Posters are everywhere now. That shift happened.”
He just doesn’t want fame to affect what’s most important. “I’m fine with it as long as if they see my kids, people take it easy,” he says. “I’m pretty giving to my fans. It’s the family time that I get that I want to protect.”
“I couldn’t even put food on the table. We were so broke”