Joseph Jason Namakaeha Momoa is an American actor who dazzles fans with his drop-dead good looks. He was born on August 1, 1979, in Honolulu, Hawaii. After high school, he went to the University of Hawaii, where he was spotted by an international fashion designer. This designer gave him his first modeling job. In 1999, he won the Hawaii Model of the Year award. It was no surprise that an acting career would follow.
His first appearance as an actor was in Baywatch, as a young lifeguard. He had a fantastic acting career so far, playing some iconic characters on TV and the silver screen. He's gotten more famous over time and his career shows no signs of slowing down.
This actor goes to extreme lengths to make his portrayals of characters realistic and convincing. A quick recount of the crazy things that he did to prepare himself for his movie roles will show fans just how passionate he is about acting/
20 Playing Larger Than Life Characters On Screen
In Aquaman, Jason Mamoa played the lead character...a warrior who fought and won against evil forces. He was a superhero who was fierce, unstoppable, and invincible. Jason Momoa's extensive acting experience in other films and Web series' prepared him to play Aquaman.
For example, playing Khal Drogo in Game of Thrones (his character bravely led the Dothraki tribe) taught him a lot about playing strong characters.
19 The Deep-Rooted Feelings
Aquaman was a character who had immense gratitude towards his parents for raising him as a fearless superhero. The character had deep-rooted respect and love for his parents. When Jason directed Road to Paloma, the character he played in the same film had that sense of loyalty and devotion to his mother.
18 The Workout and Diet Plans
Jason Momoa had to adhere to a strict diet and workout plan to build the body of a warrior for Aquaman. He engaged in rigorous bodybuilding exercises, strength training, and ab workouts. He also cut out all junk from his diet and followed a macro-nutrient diet. His fitness plan was suggested by his trainer, Stuart Walton.
17 The Involuntary Scar
An incident paved the way for his roles as superheroes and warrior men. Well, at least, in terms of his appearance. Though the incident was beyond his control and not positive, it did give him that hot and rugged look.
In 2008, a man slashed his face with a broken beer bottle. There was a deep cut across his left eyebrow which required 140 stitches. It left a permanent scar which gives his face a distinctive look that suits 'tough guy' roles.
16 The Perfect Nose
Jason Momoa was ready to sacrifice his God-given nose because he wanted to give another of his characters, Conan the Barbarian, a realistic look. He felt his nose wasn't rugged enough for the character, so he asked a friend to work on it. The guy thought of a quick fix - he punched Jason to break his nose!
15 Studying Animal Moves
In an interview with Conan O'Brien, Jason Momoa stated that he had to do strange things to prepare for his role in Canon the Barbarian. He had to behave like a true barbarian. He said he would watch how animals moved to figure out exactly how they prowled. Then, he used animal-like movements to portray the comic book hero realistically.
14 Building Testosterone
Conan the Barbarian needed to be "sexually frustrated", according to information Jason shared in a chat with Conan O'Brien. That meant pulling up his testosterone level. He said that being away from his wife helped him to feel frustrated. Moreover, he decorated his dressing room mirror with pictures of attractive women.
13 Practicing Meditation And Buddhism
Jason Momoa mostly plays characters who have to engage in violence. Performing these acts is intense. He uses certain strategies to calm his mind and get back to normal after the scenes are shot.
He practices meditation to gain composure and focus on the nicer side of life. He traveled to Tibet to study Buddhism, which he has embraced as his life's doctrine.
12 Getting Inked For A Role
Aquaman required a lot of fake body ink. To embody his famous character, Jason Mamoa got temporarily inked on his limbs and torso. This helped him get into the look of the character.
The most remarkable ink was the tattoo on his left forearm, of 'Aumakua' - a family God from Hawaiian mythology. He had his kids' initials etched on his chest and the French translation of 'to always be drunk' on his forearm.
11 Training In Martial Arts
This American actor always took his job seriously. He learned martial arts professionally for his tough-guy roles as Ronon in Stargate Atlantis and Conan. He got into Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu training in 2017.
He has taken lessons in sword fighting, boxing, and silan, which is an Indonesian martial art involving strikes, joint manipulation, and weaponry. If he throws an ax, may God save the target!
10 Rock Climbing
The handsome actor also owes his perfect body to rock climbing. He is extremely fond of rock climbing and finds it more fun than indoor gym workouts. His expertise in top-rope climbing and bouldering landed him a role in a climbing documentary film, Free Solo. The movie won an Academy Award and BAFTA Award for Best Documentary Feature.
9 Traditional Haka For Audition
To bag the role of Khal Drogo, Jason Mamoa put in a lot of effort into his audition. He said he wanted to stun the casting directors by presenting something 'beautiful and scary' so that he could stand out as a deserving candidate.
He performed a Haka, which is a Maori act with movements and chants. These acts were performed before battles, as a custom.
8 Feeding A Bear With His Mouth
He set a new benchmark for dedication when he prepared himself for his role in See. In a candid interview, he narrated an interesting story. He said he let a big Kodiak bear eat a biscuit from his mouth, to groom himself for a fight sequence with a bear in the Web series. He posted the video of the bear struggling to take a bite on Instagram.
7 Training Of Lost Vision
Jason took on the role of a sightless man in See, which is a series by Apple TV Plus. See is about a post-apocalyptic world where humanity loses vision permanently due to a virus and adapts to mass blindness.
To play the character convincingly, Jason Mamoa trained himself with a movement coach and a vision-deprived coach.
6 Echo-Locating To Play A Blind Character
For the same project, the actor practiced echo-locating. It's a technique of navigation in which one makes noises and, according to how the noises bounce back after reflecting on nearby objects, chooses movements.
He used to move carefully, wearing a sleep mask blindfold, for long periods of time, to experience how it felt to be a person with no eyesight.
5 Learning War Cry Techniques
To amp up his warlike attitude for roles, he learned war cry techniques. He invited vocalist Oli Peters to sets and learned the singer's special guttural vocal techniques. He used what he learned in war cry scenes. The death-metal vocalist told Indiewire in an interview that the actor had an inherent knack for music and learned the techniques fast.
4 Self-Educate And Travel The World
Being cast in Baywatch was both a blessing and a curse for him. He began loving acting but could not earn respect. People would simply not take a Baywatch performer seriously.
He said, to break that notion, that he would study marine biology and wildlife biology at school. He also traveled the world to acquire knowledge and skills that would help him to takes on smarter, more impressive roles.
3 The $10,000 Dreadlocks
In Stargate Atlantis, Momoa played Ronon Dex, a man with dreadlocks. To look distinctive, he grew his hair and created dreadlocks, which he wore for seven long years. The dreadlocks eventually weighed a whopping 5 pounds. He had to cut them off between seasons four and five. He then switched to a custom wig that cost $10,000.
2 The Harley-Davidson Inspiration
Jason Momoa got a Harley-Davidson as a gift from a friend while shooting Aquaman. His exploits on this bike helped him immensely later on in his career. He would go on to play a biker in his directorial debut, Road to Paloma. His character was on the run to escape arrest after avenging the death of his mother.
1 Painting And Piano For Real Life
Jason Mamoa wanted to develop talents in different fields to develop as an actor. He read and traveled. As per the New York Daily News, this actor became a skilled painter, too. His father had been a painter. Jason trained himself in pastel painting in Paris. Besides that, he plays guitar and drums and is currently learning to play piano with his daughter.