Next month sees the culmination of a life’s work for Jason Momoa, the release of Chief Of War, his new Apple TV+ series that explores the most important period in the history of Hawaii – the islands he calls home. In an exclusive interview with the metal maniac himself, we dive under the waves of his “passion project” and discover why music has played such a central role in his life…
“Aloha, Birmingham!” bellows Jason Momoa with a smile to make the Cheshire Cat jealous. “Welcome back to the beginning.”
The long-haired superhunk is striding the stage at Villa Park in front of 45,000 braying fans, all ready to witness the greatest heavy metal show of all time and say one last goodbye to Black Sabbath. But rather than stumbling onstage after one too many Guinness, Hollywood’s biggest metalhead is on hosting duty, having accidentally found himself in the compere role after trying to blag his way into the final send-off for Ozzy Osbourne and co..
He called his buddies in Anthrax and Metallica to try to score a ticket, to no avail. Eventually, legendary rock photographer Ross Halfin gave Jason a bell with the news that Sharon Osbourne wanted him to host the all-day extravaganza.
“I’m like, ‘What the fuck are you talking about, man?!’” he laughs today, remembering the call. “I’ve never hosted anything before but I’ve gotta go out in front of all these fucking people and host! I’ll be shitting my pants, but at the same time it’s the goddamn greatest metal show in history.”
Jason didn’t shit his pants, but rather commanded an army of black T-shirted warriors to not only show their respect but to also “tear this motherfucker down”. He even found his way into the mosh-pit for his favourite band, Pantera.
It’s this infectious love of music and living to the fullest that makes Jason such a likeable guy. Joining us to walk the streets of Los Angeles, his enthusiasm and lust for life is such that it’s like hanging out with a big kid or a puppy – despite his muscle-bound two-metre-tall frame – excitedly telling friends he bumps into that he’s speaking to Kerrang! right now.
Because this means something to Jason. He’s one of us. Born in Hawaii, he moved to the midwest of America at a young age with his mother, who would introduce him to her music collection of Motown and jazz. But Jason knew something else lay outside of rhythm and blues. And as is so often the way, all it takes is one push to send you down the right path.
“One of my neighbours, my babysitter’s cousin, we went over there, and he was one of those kids who’s got the bedroom, and it’s where I first heard Master Of Puppets, first heard Slayer, first heard The Cramps, just all this wild shit,” Jason remembers. “And it opened that door. He was the coolest kid ever, he was a typical bad kid, and I was super-influenced by him. I got into the whole skate culture and found the early Chili Peppers, Primus – Sailing The Seas Of Cheese blew my mind – but I just love fuckin’ Metallica and Slayer.
“And it’s my age, dude. I’m 46 coming up, so it’s just what you listen to!”
Like all of us, music is more than just a past-time – it’s a lifestyle and a culture we call home. And for the man known to millions of adults as Khal Drogo and millions of kids as Garrett ‘The Garbage Man’ Garrison, it’s integral for getting into character.
“Bro, that’s the first thing,” he enthuses. “I build a playlist and that’s exactly where it starts from – I read a script and I build my character playlist. But music is for me. I have to write to music, I have to act to it, and it helps me stay in a creative state. If I’m doing a very emotional scene it helps me stay in it.
“Music is everything to me, man.”
In previous roles, Jason has channelled the power of rock and metal into his performances. For Conan The Barbarian it was the might of Pantera, for Aquaman it was effortless cool of Slash, but for his turn in the upcoming Apple TV+ series Chief Of War, he immersed himself in traditional Hawaiian music to get into the headspace for noble warrior Ka‘iana.
Created by Jason and Thomas Pa‘a Sibbett, Chief Of War is a project he’s more passionate about than anything he’s worked on before, paying homage to the history and people of his fatherland, staying true to the traditions, beliefs and values of his ancestors.
In a way, this is the story Jason was born to tell, and has now found himself in a place to tell it. Growing up as a fan of movies like Last Of The Mohicans and Dances With Wolves, he yearned to see his experiences on screen.
“It’s the ultimate passion project – it’s my heart and soul and it's my people”
Across nine episodes, the series follows the life of Ka‘iana in an epic retelling of the unification of the Hawaiian islands in the late 18th century, in tandem with the existential threat of colonisation from the west. Opening on Jason enjoying some hand-to-fin combat with a shark, the scope and vision of the show is vast, with remarkable panoramics and stunning scenes depicting both the beauty and brutality of the time, with no punches pulled in the bloody decapitations and tribal combat that follow with conventional weapons like the leiomano (a knuckleduster of shark teeth), ihe (spear) and ma‘a (stone slinger).
Encountering ‘pale skins’ with their modern arsenal and seemingly limitless firepower flips the whole of Hawaii on its head, and is a pivotal moment in the life of Kaʻiana, who is unwittingly taken away from the islands for the first time, opening his eyes to the rest of the world and how everything is so much bigger and more hostile than he could ever have imagined. Ultimately, he’d use this newfound knowledge to turn the tide in the unification battle of his home.
“He went to China, he went to the Philippines, he went to Alaska, and he’s bringing everything back,” explains Jason. “It’s a really cool adventure. [He’s been able to see the wider world] then come back but he’s been tainted by it, and I thought that was an interesting character to play. I come back home and everyone’s talking about these gods and I’m like, ‘There are no gods, no-one gives a shit about anyone out there.’ He knows what’s coming and we’re bickering over these things. They’re coming. And they don’t believe him, his family doesn’t believe him, and it’s just a really beautiful story to play.
“My father and my grandfather never saw images like this,” he continues. “These are all on paintings, they were never going to see something like this on film, so for generations before me and all the kids growing up with me, seeing this is going to be really special. It’s the ultimate passion project, man. It’s my heart and soul and it’s my people, so what a cool thing to be able to tell our stories.”
Indeed, outside of, say, Moana, there is a distinct lack of Hawaiian tales on ‘mainstream’ TV and film.
“There aren’t any stories and that’s what I think is going to be exciting,” enthuses Jason. “You have all these people from around the world come and get married [in Hawaii] and they enjoy it and they understand the aloha spirit, and that it’s an amazing, magical place, with the volcanoes and umbilical cord to our Earth… but they don’t know the stories from there. But there are people in Germany, Switzerland, Australia, they’re going to like seeing this story and know more about Hawaii and the people that were there. I love that kind of stuff – but I’m biased, obviously.”
Staying as faithful as possible to the culture and people of Hawaii, the vast majority of the cast are Polynesian, and speak in Hawaiian throughout. It’s a vital factor retelling the story from the perspective of the indigenous people, but for an actor who has worked in a number of languages over the years – even some that are entirely made up – Jason found it more challenging than any that came before, to the point that his teacher had to live with him during the project. Asked now if he’s in any way fluent in his ancestors’ tongue, he gives the rather succinct English answer of, “Fuck no.”
Another important aspect in honouring and celebrating the history of Hawaii is the attention to detail in the traditional warrior attire, from the curved feather helmets known as mahiole to the sacred feather cloaks known as ʻahu ʻula. Being in possession of such venerated artefacts connected with Jason on a level far deeper than aesthetics.
“No-one’s allowed to wear that stuff, I’m not allowed to touch it,” he offers bluntly, “but to be able to have those made and to wear and what that does to my soul, it’s unbelievable. And for my co-stars who are Tongan, Samoan, Māori, all these different Polynesians coming together and wearing their ancestors’ outfits, it’s surreal. It’s like nothing I’ve ever worn before.”
But Kaʻiana’s look wouldn’t be complete without the loincloth or malo, which for someone of Jason’s Atlas-like physique, frankly just looks like he’s showing off.
“It actually feels really comfortable,” he smiles. “I feel more connected to my culture. It’s an honour to be able to wear that malo. I’ve got ass for days, so I’m not worried about showing my ass. We all got one.”
As much as tribal warfare and fending off the invading force makes the headlines for Chief Of War, it is underpinned by a deep-rooted connection to nature and Mother Earth – the mana and universal life force that’s been ingrained in Hawaiian culture for centuries. Spend any time with Jason, or even scroll through his Instagram, and you’ll know that he lives his life the same way. Before meeting with K! today, he was out in the desert with his friends camping, climbing and bike riding – reaffirming that bond with the land.
“People don’t get the opportunity to sit by the fire, go camping and get down to simple living, talking and being around friends. And being quiet. The city’s all hustle and bustle and our jobs. It makes me humble, it keeps me grounded, I just enjoy the outdoors,” Jason considers, turning over the idea of his own relationship to the natural world.
“I think it’s good for everybody, it recharges the human soul – we’re meant to be in nature. I just think we’re so disconnected from it. I’m definitely off when I’m not close to nature. When I work in the UK, there’s nothing better than pub life, and it’s amazing in London, but at the same time I’ve gotta make my way outside too.”
“We’re meant to be in nature – it recharges the human soul”
It’s well documented that Jason does indeed love pub life and has often been spotted sinking a few pints in famed Soho watering holes The Ship and The Toucan. In recent months he also spent an evening in north London’s The Lexington (a K! favourite), but rather than pissing the night away, he was there to play the first-ever UK show with his band ÖOF TATATÁ.
Translated as ‘Oof, almost’ in Māori, the group made their live debut in April last year with Jason on bass, and his friends Kenny Dale on drums and Mike Hayes on guitar/vocals. It’s a friendship that’s been going strong for nearly 20 years, originally meeting at Guitar Center Hollywood when Jason went to buy his first electric guitar, and has since been invigorated by the power of livewire rock’n’roll.
Mike and Kenny had been gigging around Tinseltown for years, but it was Jason’s brainwave to bring the three of them together for events he was throwing for his Meili vodka brand that were originally drier than a sandpaper suit.
“I was thinking about something we can do for the fans because you’d have these industry nights where you’d get people together and it’s just a bunch of people just going, ‘Can I get a picture with you?’ And I’m like, ‘Fuck dude, doing this all day isn’t that special sometimes,’” he admits. “You don’t get to have a great time with everybody because you’re a zombie taking pictures, you don’t get to be with everybody and hang out, and experience a night together – and that’s what I would fucking want! So how else can I make an experience?”
Trying things out at a wrap party after Mike and Kenny had taught Jason how to play a couple of classics, he caught the bug, and as well as his own industry events, the band have gone on to perform at the iconic Whisky A Go Go on the Sunset Strip in Hollywood.
“We play everything from Zeppelin to Sabbath to Metallica to Bad Brains, and we switch it up, but it’s all stuff we love that we haven’t heard in a while, and people fucking loved it. Now we’ve started making our studio and we’ve got one original song, but I’ve been doing movies so much that I haven’t had chance. We’ll make our own original songs and do it up, but for now it’s just buddies having a great time together.”
So what does Jason get out of a band that he doesn’t get from acting?
“I’m fucking terrified,” he laughs. “I’m not scared to act because I don’t have to look at the camera and there are no crowds. I’ve never done theatre and I don’t ever want to. I didn’t get into acting to do theatre, I come from photography, cinema, shooting skate videos and shit like that. I love film because you’ve got the writing, the music and the pictures. Theatre isn’t really me. Standing up there with everyone staring at you all the fucking time is brutal. I get sick, I don’t feel well, it’s been this huge, whole different thing.
“I never wanted to be a rock star onstage, but it’s really fun doing this thing and it helps my friends, and now my kids come and sing four songs, my son comes on and plays, and [we played] the fucking Whisky! I never knew I was going to do that, it was never in my brain to do that. I played in London! It’s surreal. I don’t care if it’s 200 people or 5,000, it’s still scary as shit. I love the bass and I really want to have more time to get better. I love music and I love learning.”
This self-betterment, really, is the key to Jason Momoa. From skating at a young age, to getting into acting, playing bass, studying Brazilian jiu-jitsu, running multiple businesses, to now co-writing an entire series about his ancestors and even directing the final episode, he is continually pushing his own expertise and expectations to the next level. Every day is a school day, and he is here for it.
And as our time wandering the streets of Los Angeles draws to a close, Jason reflects on what lesson the process of making Chief Of War has taught him.
“It’s reconnected me with my father’s side, my culture, the places I’ve seen, the people I’ve met,” he posits. “It’s really hard to make something like this because it’s a collaborative process, but we’re going to kick down the doors of the next generation of Hawaiians to be able to tell all of our stories, like the people who inspired me when Once Were Warriors came out.
“I hope this shit launches something. I’m so excited for the next generation.”
Chief Of War premieres on Apple TV+ on August 1, with a new episode dropping every Friday
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