Jason Momoa is an American actor and model.
He is known for his role as
Ronon DexRonon Dex is a fictional character in the science fiction television series Stargate Atlantis. Played by Jason Momoa, he is a Satedan, a civilization from the Pegasus Galaxy who had a technological level comparable to Earth in the mid-20th century but met the fate of all advanced civilizations in...
(2005–2009) on
military science fictionMilitary science fiction is a subgenre of science fiction in which the principal characters are members of a military service and an armed conflict is taking place, normally in space, or on a planet other than Earth...
television series
Stargate: Atlantis (2004–2009). Most recently, he became recognized for his role as the title character in the
sword and sorcerySword and sorcery is a sub-genre of fantasy and historical fantasy, generally characterized by sword-wielding heroes engaged in exciting and violent conflicts. An element of romance is often present, as is an element of magic and the supernatural...
film
Conan the Barbarian (2011). Before the film, Momoa appeared as Khal Drogo in the HBO
medieval fantasyMedieval fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy that encompasses medieval era high fantasy and sometimes simply represents fictitious versions of historic events. This subgenre is common among role-playing games, text-based roleplaying, and high-fantasy literature....
television series
Game of ThronesGame of Thrones is an American medieval fantasy television series created for HBO by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss. Based on author George R. R. Martin's best-selling A Song of Ice and Fire series of fantasy novels, the first of which is called A Game of Thrones, the television series debuted in...
(2011).
Early life and education
An only child, Momoa was born
Joseph Jason Namakaeha Momoa in Honolulu,
HawaiiHawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
, and raised in
NorwalkNorwalk is a city in Polk and Warren counties in the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 6,884 at the 2000 census. The city is part of the Des Moines–West Des Moines Metropolitan Statistical Area and is located just south of the Des Moines International Airport.-History:The first log cabin...
,
IowaIowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
, by his mother, Coni Momoa. His father was a Native Hawaiian and his mother was of
GermanThe Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
,
IrishThe Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
, and
Native AmericanThe indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
ancestry.
Career
In 1998, Momoa returned to Hawaii, where he was discovered by international designer
Takeo Kikuchiis a famous Japanese industrial and fashion designer. He designs such things as spectacle frames and chronographs in addition to clothing.In 2004 he bowed out from designing his own self-named brand, entrusting creative direction to Taishi Nobukuni, a graduate of London's St. Martin's College...
and launched his
modeling careerA model , sometimes called a mannequin, is a person who is employed to display, advertise and promote commercial products or to serve as a subject of works of art....
. In 1999, he won Hawaii's Model of the Year and hosted the Miss Teen Hawaii contest.
In addition to his appearances in
Stargate: Atlantis, and
Game of Thrones, Momoa has appeared as
Jason IoaneJason Ioane is a fictional character from the TV series Baywatch Hawaii. He was played by actor Jason Momoa from 1999 to 2001 and in the 2003 reunion movie Baywatch: Hawaiian Wedding....
(1999–2001) in the action
drama seriesDramatic programming in the UK, or television drama and television drama series in the US, is television program content that is scripted and fictional along the lines of √a traditional drama. This excludes, for example, sports television, television news, reality show and game shows, stand-up...
Baywatch Hawaii (1999–2001). He then portrayed the title protagonist in
Conan the Barbarian, a
a reimagining of the 1982 film of the same nameA remake is a piece of media based primarily on an earlier work of the same medium.-Film:The term "remake" is generally used in reference to a movie which uses an earlier movie as the main source material, rather than in reference to a second, later movie based on the same source...
and a role made famous by
Arnold SchwarzeneggerArnold Alois Schwarzenegger is an Austrian-American former professional bodybuilder, actor, businessman, investor, and politician. Schwarzenegger served as the 38th Governor of California from 2003 until 2011....
.
After the shooting of
Stargate Atlantis Season 4 was over, Momoa had his
dreadlocksDreadlocks, also called locks, a ras, dreads, "rasta" or Jata , are matted coils of hair. Dreadlocks are usually intentionally formed; because of the variety of different hair textures, various methods are used to encourage the formation of locks such as backcombing...
cut off. Their weight had been giving him headaches, and even
whiplashWhiplash is a non-medical term describing a range of injuries to the neck caused by or related to a sudden distortion of the neck associated with extension. The term "whiplash" is a colloquialism...
when filming action scenes. The program agreed with the decision and had planned to film a scene where Ronon cuts off his hair for Season 5's "Broken Ties", but that change was ultimately overruled by the Sci Fi network. On the first day of filming for Season 5, his dreadlocks were reattached, but the process was too taxing, forcing Momoa to switch to using his
stunt doubleA stunt double is a type of body double, specifically a skilled replacement used for dangerous film or video sequences, in movies and television , and for other sophisticated stunts...
's wig until a custom wig could be made and delivered two weeks later.
Momoa appeared as Roman in four episodes of the
comedy-dramaComedy-drama is a genre of theatre, film and television programs which combines humorous and serious content.-Theatre:Traditional western theatre, beginning with the ancient Greeks, was divided into comedy and tragedy...
television series
The Game (2011).
Personal life
He is the nephew of surfers
Brian KeaulanaBrian Keaulana is a well known Hawaiian surfer and life guard, he played himself in Baywatch Hawaii.-Bibliography:Son of the legendary Hawaiian 'Buffalo' Keaulana. Born and raised on the beach at Makaha...
and
Rusty KeaulanaRuss 'Rusty' Keaulana is an American professional longboard surfriderRusty is the son of legendary Hawaiian waterman Richard "Buffalo Keaulana. He won 3 Asp World Longboard Tours in a row in 1993, '94 and '95. In 2010, he entered as a wildcard in a ASP world tour event in Makaha and charged to the...
.
On November 15, 2008, Momoa was slashed in the face with a broken beer glass at the Bird Cafe, a Hollywood, California club. He received around 140 stitches during
reconstructive surgeryReconstructive surgery is, in its broadest sense, the use of surgery to restore the form and function of the body, although Maxillo-Facial Surgeons, Plastic Surgeons and Otolaryngologists do reconstructive surgery on faces after trauma and to reconstruct the head and neck after cancer.Other...
, and his scars are apparent in his later work. A 21-year-old Venice Beach, California resident was convicted of the crime and is serving a five-year sentence at
California Substance Abuse Treatment Facility and State Prison, CorcoranCalifornia Substance Abuse Treatment Facility and State Prison, Corcoran is a male-only state prison located in the city of Corcoran, in Kings County, California...
.
On July 23, 2007, his wife
Lisa BonetLisa Bonet , also known as Lilakoi Moon, is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Denise Huxtable Kendall on the long-running NBC sitcom The Cosby Show, and originally starring in its spinoff A Different World.-Early life:Bonet was born in San Francisco, California...
gave birth to their daughter, Lola Iolani Momoa. On December 15, 2008, Bonet and Momoa had a son, Nakoa-Wolf Manakauapo Namakaeha Momoa. The birth was first announced by Momoa's mother on the fan forums of his official site. She said that Nakoa means "warrior" and Mana stands for “strength/spirit,” while Kaua ("rain") and Po ("dark") pertain to the circumstances surrounding his birthday (he was born on a rare bad-weather night in Los Angeles). He shares his other middle name, Namakaeha, with his father.
Filmography
| Year |
Title |
Role |
Notes |
| 1999–2001 |
Baywatch Hawaii |
Jason IoaneJason Ioane is a fictional character from the TV series Baywatch Hawaii. He was played by actor Jason Momoa from 1999 to 2001 and in the 2003 reunion movie Baywatch: Hawaiian Wedding....
|
|
| 2003 |
Baywatch: Hawaiian WeddingBaywatch: Hawaiian Wedding is a 2003 made-for-TV Film which was a reunion movie for the series Baywatch.-Plot:Mitch Buchannon was believed to have died in a boating accident at the end of the 10th season of Baywatch. However, it turns out he only had amnesia and has been recovering in a Los...
|
Jason Ioane |
|
| 2003 |
Tempted |
Kala |
|
| 2004 |
Johnson Family VacationJohnson Family Vacation is a 2004 American comedy film directed by Christopher Erskin. It stars Cedric the Entertainer, Vanessa Williams, Bow Wow, Gabby Soleil, Shannon Elizabeth, Solange Knowles, and Steve Harvey...
|
Navarro |
|
| 2004–05 |
North ShoreNorth Shore is an American prime-time soap opera that aired on Fox every Monday at 8 p.m. EST for seven months in 2004 and 2005...
|
Frankie Seau |
|
| 2006–09 |
Stargate AtlantisStargate Atlantis is a Canadian-American adventure and military science fiction television series and part of MGM's Stargate franchise. The show was created by Brad Wright and Robert C. Cooper as a spin-off series of Stargate SG-1, which was created by Wright and Jonathan Glassner and was itself...
|
Ronon DexRonon Dex is a fictional character in the science fiction television series Stargate Atlantis. Played by Jason Momoa, he is a Satedan, a civilization from the Pegasus Galaxy who had a technological level comparable to Earth in the mid-20th century but met the fate of all advanced civilizations in...
|
|
| 2009 |
|
Roman |
|
| 2011 |
Game of Thrones Game of Thrones is an American medieval fantasy television series created for HBO by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss. Based on author George R. R. Martin's best-selling A Song of Ice and Fire series of fantasy novels, the first of which is called A Game of Thrones, the television series debuted in...
|
Khal Drogo |
10 episodes
ShoWest Award for Male Rising Star of 2011 (also for Conan the Barbarian)
Nominated - Scream AwardThe 2011 Scream Awards was the name of the sixth annual Scream Awards, an award show dedicated to the horror, sci-fi, and fantasy genres of feature films, television and comic books...
for Best Ensemble |
| 2011 |
Conan the Barbarian |
ConanConan the Barbarian is a fictional sword and sorcery hero that originated in pulp fiction magazines and has since been adapted to books, comics, several films , television programs, video games, roleplaying games and other media...
|
ShoWest Award for Male Rising Star of 2011 (also for Games of Thrones) |
| 2012 |
Bullet to the Head |
Keegan |
|
See also
External links