Who is Joseph Jason Namakaeha Momoa? The entertainment world knows him as Jason Momoa, he is an American actor and model. He has been cast as the lead in a new Conan the Barbarian movie.Personal life
Momoa, an only child, was born August 1, 1979 in Honolulu, Hawaii and raised in Norwalk, Iowa by his mother. His father was a Native Hawaiian and his mother was of German, Irish, and Native American ancestry. Momoa is 6'4" (1.93m) and the nephew of famed surfer Brian Keaulana.On November 15, 2008, Momoa was attacked with a broken beer glass in Hollywood. Momoa received around 140 stitches during reconstructive surgery.
On July 23, 2007, Momoa's partner, Lisa Bonet, 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 L.A.). He shares his other middle name, Namakaeha, with his father.Career
In 1998, Momoa returned to Hawaii, where he was discovered by international designer Takeo and launched his modeling career. In 1999, he won Hawaii's Model of the Year and hosted the Miss Teen Hawaii contest. Momoa is best known for his roles as Jason Ioane (1999-2001) in Baywatch Hawaii and as Ronon Dex (2005-2009)Stargate Atlantis.After Stargate Atlantis season 4 shooting was over, Jason Momoa had
his dreadlocks cut off. The weight of them was causing him headaches, and even whiplash when filming action scenes. Producers of Atlantis 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 double's wig until a custom wig could be made and delivered two weeks later.Momoa appeared in four episodes of The Game as Roman and has been cast as Khal Drogo in the HBO adaption of Game of Thrones.Momoa has also recently been cast as the title character in Conan the Barbarian.
Filmography
| Actor | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Film/Television show | Role | Other notes |
| 2001 | Baywatch | as Jason Ioane | (1999-2001) |
| 2003 | Baywatch: Hawaiian Wedding | as Jason Ioane | |
| Tempted | as Kala | ||
| 2004 | Johnson Family Vacation | as Navarro | |
| 2005 | North Shore | as Frankie Seau | (2004-2005) |
| 2009 | Stargate Atlantis | as Ronon Dex | (2005-2009) |
| 2009 | The Game | as Roman | (2009) |
| 2010 | Game of Thrones | as Khal Drogo | 2010 (scheduled) |
| 2011 | Conan | as Conan | 2011 (scheduled) |