Jason Momoa

Joseph Jason Namakaeha Momoa (born August 1, 1979) is 
an American actor. He played Aquaman in the DC Extended Universe, beginning with the 2016 superhero film Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and in the 2017 ensemble Justice League and his 2018 solo film Aquaman. In Baywatch Hawaii, he portrayed Lifeguard Jason Ioane. On television, he played Ronon Dex on the military science fiction television series Stargate Atlantis, Khal Drogo in the HBO fantasy television series Game of Thrones, and Declan Harp in the CBC series Frontier.
Momoa portrayed the title character in the sword and sorcery film Conan The Barbarian (2011), a semi-remake of the 1982 classic Conan The Barbarian starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. Road to Paloma was Momoa's first film as director, writer, and producer. He also starred in the lead role in the film, released on July 11, 2014.
==Early life==
An only child, Momoa was born in 1979 in Nānākuli, Honolulu,
Hawaii to Coni (Lemke), a photographer, and Joseph Momoa, a painter. He was raised in Norwalk, Iowa, by his mother. His father is of Native Hawaiian ancestry and his mother is of German, Irish, and Native American descent. After high school, Momoa attended college and initially majored in marine biology before switching to wildlife biology.
==Career==
In 1998, Momoa was discovered by designer Eric Chandler and Takeo Kobayashi, who encouraged his modeling career. At 19 years old, he also worked part-time in a surf shop before being cast in the action drama series Baywatch Hawaii, where he appeared as Jason Ioane (1999–2001).
In addition to his appearances in North Shore (2004–2005), Johnson Family Vacation (2004), and Stargate: Atlantis (2005–2009), Momoa was cast as Roman in four episodes of the comedy-drama television series The Game (2009). He portrayed the title protagonist in Conan the Barbarian (2011), a reimagining of the 1982 film of the same name and a role made famous by Arnold Schwarzenegger. Momoa gained his role of Khal Drogo on HBO's Game of Thrones through his audition, in which he performed a Haka, one of many intimidating Māori dances traditionally used to convey a challenge to an opponent, or a welcome to a visitor.
Momoa directed and co-wrote Road to Paloma (2014), an American drama thriller film, together with writers Jonathan Hirschbein and Robert Homer Mollohan. The film stars Momoa, Sarah Shahi, Lisa Bonet, Michael Raymond-James, and Wes Studi. It premiered at the 2014 Sarasota Film Festival in April 2014. The film had a limited theatrical release on July 15, 2014 in New York City and Los Angeles and a VOD release.
In March 2014, Momoa joined the dark comedy/thriller indie Sugar Mountain alongside Cary Elwes and Haley Webb; its principal photography was done in Alaska. He also starred as Phillip Kopus, a Ramapough Mountain Indian, on the SundanceTV drama series The Red Road (2014–2015).
In June 2014, Momoa was reported to have been cast in the role of Aquaman. He first played the role in a cameo in the superhero film Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, marking Aquaman's live action theatrical debut. Momoa played the character in a leading role in the 2017 ensemble film Justice League. He then starred in the Aquaman solo film, which released in late 2018. He also reprised this role in The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part.
In 2014, Momoa portrayed Connor in the Canadian horror action film Wolves, and starred in the sci-fi horror movie Debug; it was written and directed by Momoa's former Stargate Atlantis co-star, British-born Canadian actor David Hewlett. In February 2015, it was announced that he would portray a cannibal in the drama thriller film The Bad Batch. In 2015, Momoa was cast in the Canadian action film Braven, which was released on February 2, 2018.
In early 2017, he signed onto the official Just Cause movie series.
In July 2018, Momoa was cast for Apple's upcoming future-based drama series See.
In February 2019, Momoa was cast as Duncan Idaho in the upcoming Denis Villeneuve film Dune.
==Personal life==
Momoa began a relationship with actress Lisa Bonet in 2005. Although it was previously believed that Momoa and Bonet married on November 15, 2007, the couple did not legally marry until October 2017. Through his marriage to Bonet, Momoa is the stepfather to Zoë Kravitz. On July 23 2007, Bonet gave birth to their first child, a daughter, Lola Iolani. Their second child, a son, Nakoa-Wolf Manakauapo Namakaeha, was born on December 15, 2008. Momoa's mother announced the birth.
Momoa learned martial arts for his role as Ronon in Stargate Atlantis and for Conan. In 2017, Momoa started practicing Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Momoa has also practiced proper screaming technique with Oli Peters, the vocalist of technical death metal band Archspire for a war cry scene in See.
He has multiple tattoos. The most notable tattoo is a halfsleeve on his left forearm, which is a tribute to his family god, or “aumakua”. He is a fan of heavy metal music and has noted that he "build[s] [his] characters off of metal songs"; he has invited members of Archspire to appear in cameos in the first episode of See.
===Facial scar===
On November 15, 2008, Momoa was slashed in the face with a broken beer glass by a man during an altercation at the Birds Cafe, a tavern in Hollywood, California. He received approximately 140 stitches during reconstructive surgery and the scar is apparent in his later work. The assailant was sentenced to five years in prison for the attack.
==Filmography==
===Film===
Title 	Year	Role 	Director 	Notes 	
Johnson Family Vacation 	2004	Navarro 	 	 	
Pipeline 	2007	Kai 	 	 	
Conan the Barbarian 	2011	Conan 	 	CinemaCon Award for Male Rising Star 	
Bullet to the Head 	2012	Keegan 	 	 	
Road to Paloma 	2014	 	Himself 	Also director, producer and co-writer 	
Debug 	2014	Iam 	 	 	
Wolves 	2014	Connor 	 	 	
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice	2016	 	 	Cameo 	
Sugar Mountain 	2016	 	 	 	
Once Upon a Time in Venice 	2017	Spyder 	 	 	
 	2017	 	 	 	
Justice League 	2017	 	 	 	
Braven 	2018	Joe Braven 	 	Also producer 	
Aquaman 	2018	 	 	Nominated - Kids' Choice Award for Favorite Movie ActorNominated - Kids' Choice Award for Favorite SuperheroNominated - MTV Movie Award for Best Kiss (shared with Amber Heard)Nominated - Teen Choice Award for Choice Sci-Fi/Fantasy Movie Actor	
The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part 	2019	 	 	Voice 	
Dune 	2020	Duncan Idaho	Denis Villeneuve 	Post-production 	
Sweet Girl 	TBA 	Cooper 	Brian Andrew Mendoza	Filming 	
===Television===
Title 	Year 	Role 	Notes 	
Baywatch: Hawaii 	1999–2001	 	38 episodes 	
Baywatch: Hawaiian Wedding	2003 	 	Television film 	
Tempted 	2003 	Kala 	Television film 	
North Shore 	2004–2005	 	21 episodes 	
Stargate Atlantis 	2005–2009	 	73 episodes 	
 	2009 	Roman 	4 episodes 	
Game of Thrones 	2011–2012	 	10 episodesWon – 2011 CinemaCon Award for Male Rising StarNominated – Scream Award for Best Ensemble </small> Nominated – Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series	
 	2014–2015	 	12 episodes 	
Drunk History 	2014–2015	Various roles 	2 episodes 	
Frontier 	2016–2018	 	Main role; also executive producerNominated – Canadian Screen Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Dramatic Role 	
Saturday Night Live 	2018 	Himself (host)	Episode: "Jason Momoa/Mumford & Sons" 	
The Simpsons 	2019 	(voice) 	Episode: “The Fat Blue Line” 	
See 	2019 	 	Main role 	
==References==
==External links==
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Category:1979 births
Category:20th-century American male actors
Category:21st-century American male actors
Category:American male television actors
Category:American people of German descent
Category:American people of Irish descent
Category:American people of Native American descent
Category:American people of Native Hawaiian descent
Category:Living people
Category:Male actors from Hawaii
Category:Male actors from Honolulu
Category:Male actors from Iowa
Category:Male actors of German descent
Category:People from Polk County, Iowa
Category:Native Hawaiian male actors