Jason Momoa is a Hawaiian born American actor, who began his acting career as high school graduate in the hit TV series Baywatch. Having then gone on to play roles in a variety of other US shows including Stargate: Atlantis, he then secured the part of Khal Drogo, a barbarian king in Sky Atlantic’s fantasy series Game of Thrones.
Due to feature in a thriller alongside Sylvester Stalone some time soon, he spoke to View’s Matthew Turner about his most recent role as Conan the Barbarian, in a reprise of the iconic fantasy figure created by Robert E Howard in the 1930s and made famous by Arnold Schwarzenegger in 1980s.
How did you get involved with the project?
Well, I did Game of Thrones first and the same casting director was involved for that, so that helped get me in the room for Conan.
I spent six hours a day, working out, sword work, stunt work, getting ready and heavy weight lifting...
How much research and preparation did you do beforehand?
I had six weeks before principal photography, but I spent a lot of time, six hours a day, working out, sword work, stunt work, getting ready and obviously heavy weight lifting. And then I researched a lot of samurai movies, old samurai movies and Zatoichi films and Akira Kurosawa, and then I did a lot of research on big cats, documentaries on big lions and panthers. I wanted him to be this nimble product of his environment, kind of a primal, feral character. And obviously the Robert E. Howard books and the Frank Frazetta [paintings], I just plastered those everywhere and made a big collage and I set myself up every day so I could just look at these images.
What did you take from the books and the images?
I mean, look at the Frank Frazetta painting. I wanted just to rip that character right off the paintings. Look at the posters for the film, they look exactly like a Frazetta painting. We wanted to take that and put it onto film. It's just the way, when you look at him, the way he captures movement. I loved that about those paintings, they're so raw and alive.
Were you familiar with the comics at all?
I am with the Dark Horse comics. I didn't read too many of the Marvel ones. The Dark Horse ones I did, because that was later on, when I was collecting.
Have you checked them out since, the Marvel ones?
A little bit, not too many of them, but I'd like to start collecting them. Now that I'm, you know, playing Conan.
So you have a big collection of the Dark Horse comics?
I do, yeah. And also a lot of the Conan books, like they made a whole bunch of anthologies. They're great.
Did you watch the Arnold Schwarzenegger movie?
I just saw it for the first time about two weeks ago, after I saw mine. I wanted to wait until I saw mine first and then see his.
Were you advised not to watch it?
No, no, I just hadn't seen it. I was allowed to read comics and books, I wasn't allowed to watch that [as a child]. I grew up with a single mother and she didn't really like that kind of stuff - she watched Rear Window and Gone with the Wind. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but I wasn't allowed to watch those things and then when I got the role, I just didn't think it was a smart idea to watch something that had already been played by another character. I didn't want anything to influence me – you want to bring your paint to the canvas, like I said, just doing the samurais and the lions. When I read those stories, I don't think I need anybody else's advice on how I want to play it. You bring your own images to it.
Do you have a favourite scene in the film?
The sand warriors scene was really fun to shoot. I don't know what's my favourite. [Actor playing Young Conan] Leo Howard's fight at the very beginning, in the snow, that's probably my favourite fight. He's amazing in it.
I really enjoyed the kind of Conan the Pirate interlude.
Yeah! You know, I wish we'd had a little more time with that, but maybe on number two, we'll be able to play more on pirate time.