Summary
- Jason Momoa declares his love for Aquaman and acting while hosting SNL.
- Momoa’s love for acting began when he returned to Hawaii and landed a role on Baywatch, leading toward his rise to prominence in shows like Game of Thrones and Stargate: Atlantis.
- Director Zack Snyder cast him as Aquaman because he was a fan of Momoa’s performance as Khal Drogo on GOT.
Jason Momoa is loving life. With the cessation of the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) strike, the actor made his second appearance on Saturday Night Live (SNL) as the show’s host. And Momoa declared his love for portraying the King of Atlantis in front of a live studio audience. Momoa said during his opening monologue (per SNL):
“I love playing Aquaman because I love the ocean. It’s true. Growing up, all I wanted to be was a marine biologist, which makes sense ‘cause I’m built like a scientist. The problem was that even though I was born in Hawaii, I grew up in Iowa, and not really, you know, not really known for its oceans.”
While Momoa was living in Iowa, he saw director Zalman King’s 1998 film In God’s Hands. The film was shot in Hawaii, and it featured Momoa’s cousin Brian Keaulana tow-in surfing 50-foot waves. It was then that Momoa decided to return to Hawaii. And, as a result, the future Aquman ended up landing the role of Jason Ioane on Baywatch.
Jason Momoa’s Aquaman Legacy
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom’s Jason Momoa ended up falling in love with acting once he returned to Hawaii and landed a role on the television series Baywatch. While Momoa began his rise to prominence in TV shows like North Shore and Stargate: Atlantis, Momoa would eventually end up on Game of Thrones before director Zack Snyder came calling for the Aquaman. And GOT had a lot to do with Momoa becoming Arthur Curry and his super-powered alter ego.
Snyder and his wife Deborah were like so many others… they were enthralled by Game of Thrones. And in an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Deborah revealed why Zack chose to deviate from the comic book interpretation (the traditionally blonde hair and blue-eyed role) and cast Momoa as Aquaman. Snyder’s wife told the LA Times:
We’re big ‘Game of Thrones’ fans. I remember Jason Momoa [as Khal Drogo]. Zack was like, ‘Jason would be the perfect Aquaman.’ I was like, ‘It’s so out of the box. But yeah!’ He can be tough. And he feels like he comes from the water.
Momoa first appeared ever so briefly as the superhero in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice within the metahuman files Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck) passed on to Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot). In 2018, Momoa headlined James Wan’s Aquaman movie, and carried the solo project, which made over $1 billion worldwide. Only two other DC Comics’ films have surpassed the billion-dollar mark at the box office: Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight (2008) and The Dark Knight Rises (2012).
Momoa returns to portray his most famous role once more in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom this Christmas. The film drops in theaters on December 22.
This story originally appeared on Movieweb
