Jason Momoa: ‘I can finally show who I really am after 26 years’

Jason Momoa has been a welcome presence on our screens for decades, but his newest role might be his most personal performance yet.

The 45-year-old made his debut in Baywatch: Hawaii in 1999, and has gone on to steal the show in Dune, Fast X, Game of Thrones, Aquaman and so many more, but in Chief of War, he will be delving into the history of his native culture.

In the nine-part historical drama, which is set in Hawaii the 1700s and premieres on Apple TV+ today, he takes on the role of warrior Ka’iana, who tries to unify the warring islands ahead of the threat of colonization.

Luciane Buchanan, Temuera Morrison, Te Ao o Hinepehinga, Cliff Curtis and Kaina Makua are also among the cast.

Speaking to Metro ahead of the release, Jason – who underwent a major transformation – shared his excitement at finally being able to show a part of history that is rarely seen in Hollywood, while also getting the chance to reveal the real Jason Momoa.

When asked if he felt ‘pressure’ to do the project justice, he insisted: ‘No, it’s my heart and soul. This has been in me my whole life. I’m ready. Put it on me. I feel like I’ve been mismanaged and people don’t really know who I am, since the beginning, so now I finally get a chance to [show] “No, I can direct and write”.

‘Finally being able to do comedy this year, doing Minecraft. Even when we did Fast [X], that was my first chance at going, “Nah, I’m going to do it my way, and you guys hopefully like it, and that’s the way it is.” They really put that trust in.

‘It’s finally nice to be in a place where people trust you and you can do what you’re capable of.’

Chief of War will take viewers further than the surface of Hawaii that has been represented in media before, with a predominantly Polynesian cast, backdrop, props, language and so much more.

Through the program, Jason was able to explore his roots and bring an awareness to his culture in an authentic way – the first two episodes were entirely in local language Ōlelo Hawai’I.

Unpacking the process behind that ‘necessary’ decision, he applauded TV bosses for trusting those behind the scenes as much as they did.

‘Well, I just think it’s necessary. You couldn’t not do it, it’s a bold thing to do,’ he continued. ‘I think Apple had a lot of trust in us, because there’s nothing to prove it against. No one’s ever heard the language. There’s a lot of actors that have never been seen before. It’s a lot.

‘I just want [viewers] to embrace it. Really, just seeing what happened in our islands. I think people come and they don’t know what happened to our people. We want to be seen.

‘There’s a lot of change and a lot to bring back of a culture that was… Our language is banned from us and we’re getting it back. A lot of our art… We’re part of America and I don’t think anyone really knows anything about us.

‘[We] really have to celebrate Apple for just taking on something that’s this big, and putting the trust in me. Obviously I get to write it and direct it with my friend but it’s a big undertaking.’

The first two episodes of Chief of War are released today, with further instalments dropping on Fridays. Jason created and wrote the show with Thomas Pa’a Sibbett, who he previously joined forces with on Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, and Braven.

It took a decade for the project to come to fruition, as he conceded that he had to get his career in the right place – they eventually pitched it when he did Dune, and then spent a year writing the nine episodes in the first series.

There is no denying that, as beautiful as the series is, it is also breathtakingly brutal with stunning battle scenes emphasizing the struggle for the islanders to keep hold of their culture.

Jason is no stranger to stunts but shared that he was able to add an extra layer of emotion into the scenes, which led to one particular gut-punch moment for viewers.

‘I love that stuff, that’s just in my DNA,’ he said with a laugh. ‘I write all those scenes. I love it.

‘Something that came out of it, which is really beautiful and I don’t really think I’ve talked about, in the final episode where I look back to Kamehameha (Kaina) and I was just like, “What’s the worst thing I could do to Keōua?”

‘When I when I talked to him in English, it was just something that came to me after playing the character, because I’m like, “That would just p**s me off. You come to my backyard, you’re going to speak this other language.” I just wanted to tempt them to charge so that he can – without giving away spoilers – unleash hell on them.

‘There’s these little moments that you write and come up with when acting that I love. That’s not something that was in the books or something that we learned, it was just something that I felt playing the character.’

On the topic of those battles, there were a few moments that Jason found himself in hair-raising situations throughout the strenuous shoot – and admitted that he actually ‘f**ked up the most’ on set.

‘Being in the water with the shark was pretty scary,’ he recalled. ‘There’s no doubt about that, my butt is puckered on that one. The malo was extremely tight.

‘The worry of fighting on lava, it was like eight days of fighting in lava at night. We didn’t have too many accidents – I’m actually the one, I think, that f**ked up the most.

‘I stepped into a crevice, and if I would have [gone] the wrong way, I would have probably broke my femur, it caught my leg, but I was running around the place trying to direct a couple units or more.

‘We all came out unscathed, I’m very happy there weren’t any major damages.’

Chief of War is available to stream on Apple TV+ now, with new episodes dropping on Fridays.

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