Jason Momoa on Building His Own Projects and Never Sitting Still

Summary

Sunday Sitdown with Willie Geist: Jason Momoa on Building His Own Projects and Never Sitting Still

Air Date: January 25, 2026
Host: Willie Geist
Guest: Jason Momoa

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Overview

In this lively and candid episode, Willie Geist sits down with Jason Momoa to discuss his new movie The Wrecking Crew, his deep Hawaiian roots, career-defining moments, and his passion for environmentalism and creative self-determination. Momoa’s larger-than-life personality shines through as he shares behind-the-scenes stories, his journey from humble beginnings to Hollywood stardom, and his relentless drive to keep moving, creating, and championing causes close to his heart.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Wrecking Crew: Action, Comedy, and Heart

• Movie Overview:
  The Wrecking Crew stars Momoa and Dave Bautista as estranged brothers avenging their father's murder in Hawaii. The film is packed with inventive action scenes, wild humor, and a deep emotional undercurrent about family and Hawaii’s complexities.
• Creating Action:
  Momoa travels with a loyal stunt team (“very much like family”), often engaging in friendly one-upmanship across projects to keep things fresh and outrageous.

  “You’re doing those kinds of intensity at that level, you want people really protecting you. So it’s very much like family. And we would all, you know, throw down for each other.” (Momoa, 04:40)

• Comedic Freedom:
  Momoa relishes the chance to do comedy, embracing improvisation and even drawing inspiration for his character from his own son.

  “I kind of just like, played my son. There’s these little things about my son that I love... I put in a couple things.” (Momoa, 10:11)

• On Working with Dave Bautista:
  The duo’s dynamic is described as “no ego, just a teddy bear and I’m obviously loud, obnoxious,” making for both hilarious chemistry and solid teamwork.

  “He’s got no ego. He’s just a teddy bear, super quiet, keeps to himself. And I’m obviously loud, obnoxious, and... we blend really well.” (Momoa, 07:13)

• Notable Sequence:
  The infamous “cheese grater moment” and helicopter fight are highlighted as examples of the film’s creative, offbeat violence.

  “Just came out of nowhere. He was so drunk, he’s like, helicopter distraction. Throws it and he just like hits the wall. He’s like, damn it. He’s such a loser.” (Momoa, 05:53)

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2. Championing Hawaiian Stories and Culture

• Chief of War:
  Momoa shares the epic undertaking of creating, writing, and starring in Chief of War (Apple TV+), a historical series focused on Hawaiian history, which he views as a passion project for cultural representation.

  “When you’re growing up... I’d watch those Native American movies or those history movies and go like, I would love to see our people up there. And one day maybe I can do that.” (Momoa, 16:24)

• Challenges of Representation:
  Discusses the bittersweet nature of Chief of War being a limited series, and the challenges of introducing Hawaiian language and culture to a mainstream audience.

  “Hawaii was pretty proud, but it’s not gonna be enough to make another.” (Momoa, 17:38)

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3. Personal Roots: Hawaii, Iowa, and Finding Belonging

• Childhood Split:
  Born in Hawaii, raised in Iowa by his mother, Momoa speaks candidly about the challenge of feeling like an outsider in both places, and how this shaped his restless, creative nature.

  “Basically... I never sit still longer than four or five days... That’s who I am. I just constantly move.” (Momoa, 22:44)

• Influence of Family:
  His Midwest upbringing, single mother, and extended Hawaiian family (surfers, watermen) all inform his identity and later work.

  “I idolize my father... then I have this amazing, like, hunting loving... rooted Midwest... my mother’s an artist...” (Momoa, 20:09)

• Feeling Between Worlds:

  “I was a single mother who worked four jobs, and it was hard, man... when I was there [Hawaii], I’m haole there, you know, because I wasn’t raised there.” (Momoa, 21:51)

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4. Building His Own Path in Hollywood

• Unconventional Entry:
  Momoa’s break into acting came via Baywatch: Hawaii, using a fabricated résumé (“Hawaii’s model of the year”).

  “We just bull our way through it. And it worked. I just have no fear... I just didn't give a [expletive].” (Momoa, 29:36)

• Persistence in a Tough Industry:
  After Baywatch and before Game of Thrones, Momoa struggled for years, even living in an Airstream while fighting for creative freedom.

  “I just dreaded my hair. And I was like... Not that. I mean, I grew up. A lot of people just didn't understand where to put me.” (Momoa, 24:01)

• Taking Control and Creating Roles:
  Formed his own production company “Pride of Gypsies” to make space for himself and his friends in the industry:

  “We just formed an alliance and they're still with me to this day... We do everything together.” (Momoa, 32:28)

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5. Breakout Roles and Global Fame

• Game of Thrones:
  Khal Drogo was a turning point, but also a challenge:

  “Then no one knew I spoke English... They really didn't like me until the fourth season...” (Momoa, 25:46)

• Aquaman:
  Catapulted him to worldwide fame, and with it, new challenges regarding privacy and public life.

  “I mean, it did amazing things for my career... So, you know, no one needs to know about the bruises and dents and fights, but it did wonderful for my career.” (Momoa, 33:18) “I try to be in a good mood... generally, if I'm with my kids or my lady... I'm not gonna break concentration for you.” (Momoa, 33:40)

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6. What’s Next: Projects and Dreams

• Upcoming Work:
  Mixed slate of high-profile new projects—Wrecking Crew, On the Roam season 2, Animal Friends (with Ryan Reynolds), Supergirl (as Lobo), Dune 3, Street Fighter (as Blanca), and more Minecraft movies.

  “Literally this is the year of like childhood dreams... Street Fighter, I get to play Blanca... I have the arcade in my garage, dude.” (Momoa, 35:33)

• Always on the Move:
  Even downtime is filled with travel, adventure, and new projects.

  “You don't go home and sit in a hammock. You're always moving.”
  “No, I did. I just got a hammock from Guatemala and I just sat. It was heaven.” (Momoa, 36:52)

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7. Environmental Activism and Entrepreneurship

• Reducing Plastic Waste:
  Deeply committed to environmental causes, Momoa founded a company (Mananalu) producing reusable water containers, pushing for circular systems in hospitality.

  “I wanted to save the planet, I want to save the earth... I felt like I could chip away at single use plastic... I made that can that screws on and off.” (Momoa, 37:25, 37:53) “If I can make that blueprint very quickly... then we can branch off and be able to take it to different places, but just show how we can turn the, like, turn those boats back. Like, we don't need your plastic water bottles.” (Momoa, 39:24)

• Using His Platform:
  Bridging celebrity with activism, Momoa stresses the urgency of ocean conservation—both with the UN and policy makers.

  “Just the passion is the ocean and I love it... if I can just shine a light on that, great.” (Momoa, 41:41)

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8. A Mind in Motion: Music, Vodka, and More

• Diversifying Passions:
  Shares excitement over new forays into music (DJing, playing with friends), and his award-winning vodka line.

  “Started playing music... started DJing... started this vodka company... we won every award you could win... affordable luxury.” (Momoa, 42:19, 43:05)

• On His Restless Creativity:

  “I never sit still longer than four or five days... I just constantly move.” (Momoa, 22:44)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Action Sequences:
  “I think that's pretty funny when you're in the bathroom and you go into the kitchen and there's like the cheese grater…” (Momoa, 05:16)
• On His Dynamic with Dave Bautista:
  “We're kind of opposite, but like, really blend really well and very supportive.” (Momoa, 07:18)
• On Identity and Belonging:
  “Even though you’re Hawaiian and very much, you know, 50% Hawaiian, you still not—you weren't raised with us. And then you go back here, and there wasn't one race that I grew up with.” (Momoa, 21:59)
• On Surviving Baywatch:
  “Might as well be the star... Still to this day, that was the hardest job I've ever had. That shit was hard.” (Momoa, 30:47)
• On Taking Creative Control:
  “I'm gonna direct, I'm gonna write, I'm gonna create my own line... Just laying into this guy...” (Momoa, 24:07)
• On Hollywood Success:
  “I don't get to see [my kids]... I'm not gonna break concentration for you. And just like, sorry, I'm with my family... Aside from that if I'm by myself. Yeah, let's do this.” (Momoa, 33:40)
• On Environmentalism:
  “This is, you know, once everyone was doing it, but it's owned by... it's the red, red guy and the blue guy... At least we can counter shift with that going like, hey, now we're eliminating waste.” (Momoa, 40:36)
• On Restlessness:
  “I have—that’s who I am. I just constantly move. I think rock climbing, really.” (Momoa, 22:44)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 03:31: Start of conversation; The Wrecking Crew action sequences
• 06:42: How the movie came to be, Momoa and Bautista's collaboration
• 09:39: Momoa’s love for comedy and improv in the film
• 11:52: Rain fight scene with Bautista—brotherhood and stunt injuries
• 15:01: The film as a commentary on exploitation of Hawaii
• 16:03: Deep dive into Chief of War; ambitions to tell Hawaiian stories
• 19:50: Momoa’s childhood—between Hawaii and Iowa
• 23:44: Artistic ambitions, drifting years, forming his creative tribe
• 25:46: Breaking through with Game of Thrones
• 29:09: Landing Baywatch: Hawaii, the “Model of the Year” story
• 32:28: Assembling his own filmmaking team, Pride of Gypsies
• 33:03: The impact of Aquaman
• 34:21: How fame changed his everyday life
• 34:32: Upcoming films and projects (Sandberg, Supergirl, Dune, etc.)
• 37:25: Environmental activism with Mananalu, sustainable water bottles
• 41:17: Work with UN and further ambitions for Hawaii and the planet
• 42:19: New musical and entrepreneurial ventures

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Conclusion

Jason Momoa’s conversation with Willie Geist is an energetic, multifaceted journey through action-packed movies, cultural advocacy, personal struggles, and a relentless pursuit of creativity in every field he touches. He remains grounded in his roots, passionate about the environment, and committed to telling stories that matter—both on and off the screen.

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Transcript

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[Willie Geist]

Hey, guys, Willie Geist here with another episode of the Sunday Sit down podcast. Got a great one for you and a little bit of a wild one this week with Jason Momoa. I actually just got done talking to him about an hour ago, a little restaurant in New York City. Man, I enjoyed the conversation, I think partly because he's the kind of guy who makes you feel like you've known him your whole life. He just sits down, no filter, no pretense, no nothing. Just two guys sitting at a table talking through his life and career. We sat down to talk about his new movie. It's called the Wrecking Crew. It's on Prime Video. It stars him and Dave Bautista, who was a former WWE wrestler who's now had this amazing acting career as well. They are estranged brothers who get together to sort out the murder of their father in Hawaii. And incredible, truly incredible action sequences, like violence in the fight scenes. That is just creative, if that makes sense, like, oh, I never thought to kill a bad guy that way. And they do it just amazing, but also hilarious. And Jason Momoa is the comedy of it. He's loose, you know, kind of down on his luck a little bit. Can't nail down a life for himself. Always has a beer in his hand. He's very funny.

[Interviewer]

The action's really good, good story. So we talk a lot about that.

[Willie Geist]

And then his career, career, you know, he was born in Hawaii, moved. He was six months or so old with his mother when his parents split. Grew up in the Midwest in Iowa, and then in his middle school and teenage years, started going back in the summers to Hawaii and getting in touch with his father and with his Hawaiian roots, which is so much a part of who he is now. So the movie is set in Hawaii. He's just coming off this massive show, the chief of war that was on Apple tv. Plus this epic movie that gets into the history of Hawaii and the colonialism of Hawaii. And he plays this great warrior chief. So that was sort of a love letter to Hawaii. Just, you know, what a fascinating guy. He's big dude. He's got the long hair. He was in college when he went to an audition for Baywatch, Hawaii. He said there were like 1300 people there. He got to the front of the line, told them he was a model and that he had won the title of Hawaii's Model of the Year, made up a resume, got the job, and.

[Interviewer]

He was kind of off and running on his career in acting, which has.

[Willie Geist]

Become just so prolific.

[Interviewer]

And he'll talk through so many of.

[Willie Geist]

The projects that he's done. Also does a ton of stuff off the screen in terms of helping Hawaii, in terms of protecting the environment, all the natural resources from the place he loves. But more than all that, he's just a funny, loose dude, and I think you're about to find out what I mean. So sit back, relax, enjoy a great conversation right now with Jason Momoa on the Sunday Sit down podcast.

[Interviewer]

Jason, thanks for doing this, man. Good to see you.

[Jason Momoa]

Good to see you.

[Interviewer]

Love the movie the Wrecking Crew. There's so much to talk about with it. But can I just start with the action sequences, the fight scenes, which are.

[Willie Geist]

As intense as any I think I've.

[Interviewer]

Ever seen in any movie. And I'm not just saying that because you're sitting here and you were just telling me you got a stunt crew that you travel with, and there's a little bit of a game of, like, one upsmanship from movie to movie, 100%.

[Jason Momoa]

So I'll be like, on Minecraft and he'll be sending me, like some of these funny skits where, you know, I'll be in a lava, lava where I have to fight him naked. They wanted me to find him naked. And so I'm like. They just try to crack me up and I try to one up. We try to one up each other. So, you know, right now they're sending me stuff for, like, the one I'm doing with Sandberg right now, but they'll do Minecraft too. And so they'll always be kind of ahead. And then when we show up, there's like 12 guys and my same stunt double for, you know, over a decade now. And. But I. I started with them all at 87 11, and I just. I love them so much. And it's just you're doing those kind of. That kind of intensity at that level, you want people really protecting you. So it's. It's very much like family. And we would all, you know, throw down for each other. Like, one of them's here actually right now. So, you know, oh, there he is. We had first day of box. I had surgery exactly two months ago. So he's with Me getting me ready for the next thing. Cuz I haven't been able to do anything. So we were trying to. I was able to box this morning, so it was good.

[Interviewer]

Oh, did you. Are you already this morning box?

[Jason Momoa]

Yeah. Cuz I can't really close the finger yet. They open that up and kind of tried to fix it, but. So I'm excited, like hopefully 20, 26 I can get physical again.

[Interviewer]

Well, I mean, there are creative ways of taking out bad guys. Put it this way, without giving away too much.

[Jason Momoa]

Yes.

[Interviewer]

Some of the things I saw, like I said, I've never seen before. So is that what it is? Like, hey, what if we did this?

[Jason Momoa]

Yeah, sure. Yeah. I just think that's pretty funny when you're in the bathroom and you go into the kitchen and there's like the cheese grater and there's all these kind of fun little things that you. I mean you're gonna use the things that are around, right? And so yeah, I think that's amazing. And then. But there's definitely moments that I think we've done some pretty gory stuff and so some things don't work out and then you know, we'll take it to another movie and they're like, that would be amazing. And you know, and so John Valera is definitely the. He's at the, at the helm of all of this.

[Interviewer]

So there is a cheese grater moment. That's shocking. And I'll leave it at that. I'll just leave it right there.

[Jason Momoa]

What about the sword fight? What about the helicopter?

[Interviewer]

The helicopter?

[Jason Momoa]

Helicopter distraction, yeah. Just came out of nowhere. He was so drunk, he's like, helicopter distraction. Throws it and he just like hits the wall. He's like, damn it. He's such a loser.

[Interviewer]

And by the way, there is a helicopter chase. This is a different scene.

[Jason Momoa]

Different. I think people will get it. When I'm losing around.

[Interviewer]

That's definitely the first time I've seen that as a misdirection in a movie fight. Like, check this out. And then, you know, take him. So let's talk a little bit about the origin story of this movie, which is so fun and so intense. Cause it's funny too obviously, which is now kind of well known that Dave Bautista, your co star, he kind of like manifested this in a tweet and was like, I'm seeing me Jason Momoa almost five years ago. I think it was in a buddy cop kind of thing. What happens from there to make it a reality?

[Jason Momoa]

I get a call from my agents going, what the hell are you guys doing over there? Why are you guys. And I get a call from my other buddy David Leach, going, I'm in. We just literally, here's the thing is that Dave and I got along really well, and we had a. When I was on C on Apple second season, I was kind of like, who would play my brother, who's a great actor, who's a great fighter, big. We need someone that's going to be able to go up against me. And I'm like, I want to fight Batista. And so at that time, I mean, he's amazing. He's a super skilled fighter, and it was fit perfect for that world. And also, I just seen Blade Runner, and he was phenomenal with it. And Denis is like one of my favorites, and he just didn't even loved him. And so we got him in and we did that. We just had such a, like, no ego. He's got no ego. He's just a teddy bear, super quiet, keeps to himself. And I'm obviously loud, obnoxious, and. And. And we're kind of opposite, but like, really blend really well and very supportive. And so it's nice to work like that because no one's trying to, like, up show or do anything. We're.

[Interviewer]

It's.

[Jason Momoa]

We're all about the. The story and what we're moving. And so I was like, bro, I have this idea. It's my first kind of like. Like second script that I. That I. That I. That I wrote. And I pitched this one to him, and it was involved with these, you know, these brothers in Hawaii and their father dies, and you ended up turning into. It comes from someone from the family. And obviously you're involving all the underbelly of Hawaii because there's just so many things from the east, from the west, and the crime and the corruption and the government. And so there's just so much, so many land rights and water rights. And so I just felt like there's so many things we could on other side of Hawaii. And we play, you know, estranged brothers. And when I was pitching that to him, he loved it. Our writer and showrunner, Jonathan Tropper, who's doing c, you know, he saw it in the tabloids and he's like, what the. I want to do this. I want to do this. And it was the weirdest thing. We're like, so does a lot of other guys. You're going to have to, like, come in and pitch it to us. I'm sorry, boss. And you're like, you have all the right to do this. Right. But there's three other guys that just jumped in line and said they want to do it. So our agents are giving us writers. So everyone comes in and pitches to me and Dave. And then we end up picking, you know, obviously Tropper, because it was phenomenal, and he's a fantastic writer and he really knows how to write for me and Dave. And yeah, we start doing it, and on Hill comes in, we really like on Hell. And then that all kind of brothership fills in. And it's just really amount of it was a waiting game because he works more than I do. Like, he was not even on this press tour because he's working so much. So we're just, like, finding a gap in our careers. And so it ended up working out. And then it was from day one, you know. Cause I've only done Minecraft as a comedy, you know, that was the first ever thing, except for, like, being on snl. And I love. That's my favorite thing is, like, we were talking about earlier, SNL is like, life. That is it.

[Interviewer]

Yes.

[Jason Momoa]

To me, I'm like, I don't care about it. I mean, I just. I go to Lauren. I go like, did I do good? Did I do good? Can I come back next time? He's like, yes, Jason, you can come back. So I'm like, that's all. I do these movies so I can go on snl. That's it.

[Interviewer]

Well, they keep inviting you back, so keep working.

[Jason Momoa]

Yes. And so basically, I totally forgot where I was going with that.

[Interviewer]

We were just talking about how you like doing comedy and you don't get a chance to do it.

[Jason Momoa]

Yeah. So I mean, this is the second one. And generally, if I was gonna do a comedy, it's like, oh, we're gonna get, like, Andy Samberg. So the next one I'm doing right now, he's gonna be the comedian, I'm gonna be the straight guy. And, you know, that's what you kind of end up doing. And so is great that Dave's straight guy and I'm the. You know, I gotta do all these moments that need to be there. I really didn't ever done it before. I was pretty scared. And I kind of just like, played my son who's, you know, he's, you know, just like, played a younger brother who really loves annoying his older brother, who is my. You know, I have a daughter, but he's just. There's these little things about my son that I love that it's just like, I put in a Couple things. And next thing you know, it just snowballed and there's just. And then we started improv and so many things to the point where, like, Trapper's like, you need to dial it back. Dial it back. Get back to the script. I'm like, really? Do we.

[Interviewer]

Does your son know he was the.

[Jason Momoa]

Inspiration for the character? Yes.

[Interviewer]

How does it feel about that?

[Jason Momoa]

He always. He loves this. He's very mad that this is not in theaters. He's very much like. And my daughter, they love this movie. And I'm just. I'm extremely proud. So I'm stoked. It's on Amazon. These. They were unbelievable. Had the best time with them. So I'm like, I hope. Fingers crossed I would. I want to do sequel because it's just so much fun. You got amazing writer, and your actors are so strong. Morena's. She's beautiful. Jacob's hilarious. And, like, I want to take it to Japan.

[Interviewer]

Oh, nice.

[Jason Momoa]

You know, I mean, like. So then we're over in Japan and we do something really, you know, spooky over there.

[Interviewer]

I think you're gonna get the chance because this is. The action's incredible, but it's also really funny.

[Jason Momoa]

So it's, like, fun, right? Like this.

[Willie Geist]

It's fun.

[Jason Momoa]

It's fun, like, super fun. Got a lot of heart in the end. Just all the. That we gotta work through and stuff. And, I mean, you know, brothers. I don't have any siblings, but I could imagine it would be, you know, got problems with my own friends. That. Right, Damian.

[Interviewer]

They're like brothers. Yeah. I mean, there's so much comedy in that strained relationship. You guys have an incredible fight scene. The two of you, in the rain.

[Willie Geist]

In the rain.

[Jason Momoa]

Which as 50 year olds, and he's 50, and I'm almost there, and it hurts.

[Interviewer]

Yeah. I mean, you're. You can handle yourself, but Dave's a former professional wrestler. He's a big dude.

[Jason Momoa]

He's way better in shape than I am.

[Chevrolet Advertiser]

He's so.

[Jason Momoa]

He's like. He loves doing that stuff.

[Interviewer]

And I know it's acting and it's stunt work, but there's still an element, is there not, of, like, Dave Bautista's coming at me right now. I better be ready.

[Jason Momoa]

He was on my chest with his knee, like, just mounted up on me, and I'm like. Cause he does jujitsu and all that stuff, and he's just. You gotta just watch that face and that size of his hand. And he's just raining down bombs on you, and I'm Just like, oh, my God. I close my eyes, I'm like, dave, if you hit me, I'm done. This is it. I don't ever want to be put in that position. I would tapped out. If someone got me like that, I'd be like, nah, nah, nah. We're good. We're good. I can't move my arms. He's got me pinned down like this with a knee on. I'm like, I'm good.

[Interviewer]

Somebody yell, cut.

[Jason Momoa]

Yeah.

[Interviewer]

Well, I think if you get the sequel, though, because that scene is so good, they're gonna want another one. I think a brother fight scene.

[Jason Momoa]

So there'll be another one.

[Interviewer]

We'll worry about that.

[Jason Momoa]

I think we have. It'd be fun if it was just slaps. Like, our women were watching us. Like, stop. You have to. You can only be like, slaps or do like. It's just annoying brotherly things.

[Interviewer]

See, that would be funny, though.

[Jason Momoa]

That would be funny.

[Interviewer]

I would.

[Jason Momoa]

I can see it just like slaps.

[Interviewer]

And there's no risk of you getting knocked out or killed by Dave Batista's right hand.

[Jason Momoa]

And, like, the way I slap his ass, because he's got no ass, it hurts him more. But I got all ass. So I'm like, there you go. That's how I went.

[Interviewer]

Part of the pitch for the next movie, Slapping ass.

[Jason Momoa]

You heard it here. Willie Geist, Jason Momoa, slapping ass.

[Interviewer]

Maybe that's the subtitle of the next one.

[Jason Momoa]

Pieces Ass.

[Interviewer]

The Wrecking Crew 2. Slapping ass. They're like, no, no, no, no.

[Willie Geist]

Hey, guys, thanks for listening to the Sunday Sit down podcast. Stick around to hear more from Jason Momoa right after the break.

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[Interviewer]

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[Willie Geist]

Welcome back. Now more of my conversation with Jason Momoa.

[Interviewer]

One of the other cool things about this set in Hawaii, obviously your home state, a place you love so much and highlight so often in your work and you do, like you mentioned, there is that undercurrent of people coming to your beloved place and kind of trying to exploit it a little bit, whether it's developers or politicians or whoever. So that runs through the movie too.

[Jason Momoa]

Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Which is great. And then also just, you know, dealing with my two. One of my favorite actors, Tevam Wadam Morrison, he plays our mayor. So that's nice too. He's my father in Aquaman.

[Interviewer]

Right, right.

[Jason Momoa]

And just knowing that, you know, how connected and corrupt it is just going up into our government system and, you know, who's doing what with our money and our land and.

[Interviewer]

Yeah, it's amazing. There's action, there's fun, and there's a little message in there too.

[Jason Momoa]

There's a message?

[Interviewer]

Yeah, there's a message in there. Speaking of, I got to ask you about Chief of War, which is.

[Jason Momoa]

Well, I shot both of those in Hawaii and New Zealand, so I was like, those two Minecraft. Jesus, Louise. Actually, all three did. Wrecking Crew of Minecraft and Chief of War. We were both going from Hawaii to New Zealand. New Zealand. Wow. Yeah.

[Interviewer]

But Chief of War, man, I mean, co creator, writer, star, producer, director, you did everything on what is if for people who haven't seen it is an epic, like, cinematic, you know, it's a movie every episode.

[Jason Momoa]

Yeah, yeah.

[Interviewer]

Why did you want to take as much time and effort as you did to make that what it became?

[Jason Momoa]

I mean, I really think that's my, you know, when you're growing up, like, I would watch those Native American movies or those history movies and go like, I would love to see our people up there. And one day maybe I can do that. And I never thought I would be able to make like Kamehameha's story. It's just too big. It's like trying to tell Lincoln's story. Like they just tell the last moment of Gettysburg. It's just so much, such a big, beautiful life. And this was an opportunity to. This one character was, you know, an area so we could play all these beautiful characters. And what was going on in those time periods, kind of shrink time a little bit. And we just spent a solid. I pitched it when I was doing Dune C had just ended, so I went, took it to Zach. I pitched it, and he's like. He said yes right in the room. And then. And we started writing it. We'll get a writer's room together. I'm like, no, no, no, we'll write it. So he wrote all the episodes and me and my partner, Thomas, and Doug, our showrunner. And that took, I want to say, like, eight months to shoot something like that. But it's. It's the biggest thing I've ever done. I feel like. I mean, I had my hand in everything and felt beautiful. I wish we were doing more. I don't think we're going to be doing more. No. No.

[Interviewer]

Really?

[Jason Momoa]

Yeah.

[Interviewer]

I'm actually shocked.

[Jason Momoa]

I think the language is hard for people. I think. Oh, I think people didn't. Well, Hawaii was pretty proud, but it's not gonna be enough to make another.

[Interviewer]

Well, yeah, because you learn the native language just to play this role.

[Jason Momoa]

Yeah. Which in itself was extremely challenging. But I think. Yeah. You know, Apple was not gonna bring it back. It was. It was sold as a limited series. So it's kind of like, well, we can do this. And this is where it does go. And if people are interested. So you never know, there may come. There may be a movie. There may be a place for it to be somewhere else.

[Interviewer]

Yeah.

[Jason Momoa]

You know, there's future for it. I mean, there's so many Hawaiian stories, and the truth of it is, we now have one. Yeah. And all the people are so proud. And, like, we gotta see our language up there. And, you know, these outfits that we're wearing, like, they're in museums. I'm not allowed to wear that stuff. So, like, just wearing that outfit.

[Interviewer]

Yeah.

[Jason Momoa]

Is. And going to battle and fighting other people. I mean, it was the most amazing experience of my life. It was like, you know, it was the last week. It was Braveheart.

[Willie Geist]

Yeah.

[Jason Momoa]

For us. And, yeah, it's the best. But hopefully, maybe we'll be able to finish the story. I don't know in what format or with who, but, you know, I've worked this hard to get this far. I can't see why. Everything's possible. Right.

[Interviewer]

Yeah. I believe it. You know what I mean?

[Willie Geist]

I believe it.

[Jason Momoa]

There's a lot of people out there that love it, so we'll see if it happens.

[Interviewer]

And how gratifying for you to have reached the point in your career, through all the work you've done for 25 years, where you could deliver that product, you could sell it in the room, like you said. And have everybody back home in Hawaii say thank you. Finally, someone's telling our story.

[Jason Momoa]

Yeah, I mean, I freaked out. We had Hans Zimmer sign on before he was shot of, you know, a frame of the movie. So he's the first TV show. It's pretty awesome.

[Interviewer]

Yeah.

[Jason Momoa]

So.

[Interviewer]

And it feels good to go home and hear people.

[Jason Momoa]

You know what? I haven't been home yet.

[Interviewer]

Oh, really? But you hear from home.

[Jason Momoa]

Yeah, I do. Yeah. And everyone's watching. So I'm going home now in about, you know, about two weeks, finish this tour, and then. And we'll. I mean, I think it's gonna be a little bit different. Yeah. So I'm excited you're about to hear about. For sure. For sure.

[Interviewer]

Your, your story rooted in Hawaii is so fascinating, which is that you were born there, and then a young age you moved to the Midwest, which. Norwalk, Iowa, couldn't be more different than where you were born. What was it like for you for a young boy who felt Hawaiian, because he is to be plopped down the middle of the Midwest and grow up there?

[Jason Momoa]

I mean, like I said, I, I, I left my, we, we left our. My father when I was probably six months old, so I really didn't experience Hawaii till, you know, I think it was maybe like, seven or something like that. And then finally was. I'd go over every summer, we have the three months to be there. And then I go to school in Iowa. And it was very much, I mean, what an eye opener and what a beautiful, like, gift to, you know, I idolize my father. I have the biggest, like, watermen family, these pros, whether it's pro surfers or amazing lifeguards, and just, and just natural watermen and sailors, fishermen. And so you come from this very rich family there. And then I have this amazing, like, hunting loving, like, my uncles are my everything, and just, like, really rooted Midwest and a beautiful mother's an artist. And, I mean, I was very happy I was raised with my mother. I mean, that's probably why I am the way I am, because she raised me on Gone with the Wind and Streetcar Named Desire, like, Barefoot in the Park. I wasn't, you know, I wasn't raised with Conan. And, you know, I mean, I mean, I did see Die Hard and all those kind of things, but, I mean, like, it just wouldn't have been like, my neighbors were watching a bunch of different that I was not allowed to watch. Right. Which then changes the way your music is and all that kind of stuff. But I feel like I was Raised with a female. And I was a single mother who worked four jobs, and it was hard, man. And not a lot of support from that side. And then, you know, the older I got, we did. And I spent more time over there, getting to know them, being with my family. But you go back to that side, and we're on the reservation, so we're on Hawaiian homestead land.

[Interviewer]

Yeah.

[Jason Momoa]

You know, and I can speak, basically, I'm white there, I'm haole there, you know, because I wasn't raised there.

[Interviewer]

Right.

[Jason Momoa]

And. And I have wonderful cousins who, you know, brought me into everything, and I surf and be with everyone, but still, you know, you're. Even though you're Hawaiian and very much, you know, 50% Hawaiian, you're. You still not. You weren't. You weren't raised with us. And then you go back here, and there wasn't one race that I grew up with, so there's no. There was no Spanish, there was no Chinese. There's no black, obviously, in Iowa. Yes. But in my small hometown, there was not.

[Interviewer]

Yeah.

[Jason Momoa]

And so growing up that way was very different. Right. And I didn't. Yeah. I have my own qualms with that. And I like. It got out. But I'm really happy that I was raised in Iowa.

[Interviewer]

So in a funny way, you didn't really feel quite at home.

[Jason Momoa]

I mean, that's why my companies are, you know, pride of gypsies and on their own. Yeah, basically. And I never sit still longer than four or five days. Yeah, I mean, I've kind of. Of. I have. That's who I am. I just constantly move. I think rock climbing, really. My mom took me to rock climbing in the Dakotas when I was 13. I think in the moment I touched rock and started moving, and I just got to see the world. And, you know, you go from the beautiful, you know, like, corn fields and all that flat. It is beautiful being out there. But then, like, when I get up into the mountains and then I, you know, I moved out to Colorado and just. I. Every weekend I was just trying to rock climb and go different places, and that's was like, inspired me to travel and move. And so by doing that, that ended up getting me into going. My family's such a big surface. They were towing in big waves. And so when I was in college, when I was out in Colorado, I just was like, I'm gonna go. What am I doing? I worked at the family surf shop, started towing in the big waves, and then a TV show came, and then just everything clicked in. It and then went off and. Well, in the story, I was 19, and I'm 47.

[Interviewer]

Right, right.

[Jason Momoa]

But I've been a part of nothing but shows. And I general gave up after doing that show, and I just took that money. I traveled the world, and I just. I dreaded my hair. And I was like. I just was. Not that. I mean, I grew up. A lot of people just didn't understand where to put me.

[Interviewer]

Yeah.

[Jason Momoa]

Just as an artist, man. And just wanted to be outdoors and climb. And so I traveled from Tibet, France, Italy, and just lived out of a backpack. And then I bought an old Airstream, and I lived out of that for a couple years and tried to get auditions, and casting directors would kind of, like, throw something my way and threw a couple casting directors. They got me in on some roles, and then through that, I had to negotiate on something, and they kind of got me in to see some agents. And then that man right over there, that white, beautiful man right over there, white hair. He's the first agent, the last person I was gonna see. And I went into his office, and I was just. I don't give a anymore. I'm like, listen, dude, I'm gonna. And he's a Leo, too, so he's a lion. That's what part of gypsies is. But he. He's. I'm like, I'm gonna direct. I'm gonna write. I'm gonna create my own line. I want to do fashion. I want to do. I want to do environmentalism. Like, I want to do this. I want to do that. Just laying into this guy, and. And he's just, like, listening to me, and he's like, all right. And I'm like, by the way, I'm dreading my hair tomorrow. He's like, okay, because they just pissed me off. I went to William Morris, who I'm now with, but they're just like, you just need to cut your hair. I'm like, and I'm such a little arrogant kid as you are when you're in. I was like, did you tell Johnny Depp to cut his hair? And they're just like, you know Johnny Depp? I'm like, well, I'm not cutting my hair. Why don't you give me the job first? And if it needs it, then I'll cut my hair. I'll cut my hair. When I. When you give me the job, I'm not gonna go looking around like you. I'm like, so. It was very challenging until, like, really, it hit for Drogo. Until a bottle Smashed in my face and like, changed the. And maybe probably made me look a little bit meaner.

[Interviewer]

And that's. In real life. Bob was smashing. Yeah.

[Willie Geist]

Yeah.

[Jason Momoa]

It was an accident. And then it kind of. Until Drogo hit, things changed a little bit. But then no one knew I spoke English. Because you're like, oh, you're a Korean. Game of Thrones. They really didn't like me until the fourth season of Game of Thrones, because the first season, you're like, oh, dude, you're just that, dude. You're just Genghis Khan kind of thing. And then people get so obsessed with Game of Thrones, then everyone's watching it, and then you. And then it really kicked off. And it was. Until Zach called. And. And from that point on, I started writing and directing. So after Game of Thrones, you know, David and Dan, who write that, they're really close to me and my partner Brian Mendoza and myself. And so we just write and shoot, and that's where the photographer. And like, we just. We wrote our. Our first movie with a. With a buddy of ours. It's called Road to Paloma. It was about the. The rapes on the Native American reservations and how the loophole works. And I can't remember what year it was. Might have been 2016, maybe 2014. Someone will Google it. Anyways, road diploma. We did it. And that really helped me get into Sundance Channel. Unless I got in the red road, right. Which, like, I think just came out in Netflix because everybody's like, red road, red row. I'm like, oh, cool. A decade later, he didn't see it on the Sundance channel. Well, wait till you see what happened on Apple. Wait another. No one sees all that. Slow burn it is, bro. I'm like, the guy. It's like, don't worry. In 10 years, you're gonna love that movie. I did 20 years ago. Me. But I think when Zach saw Game of Thrones, that's when he was like, right. He wanted to make Aquaman like that.

[Interviewer]

Yes.

[Jason Momoa]

And so I got called into the office, and then that's. I still had to keep it a secret for a year.

[Interviewer]

Yeah.

[Jason Momoa]

It's just brutal. So I'm still trying to just, like, put food on the table and keep it going and keep it going and. And then slow. Slowly but surely, just stack them up and then boom. But now I'm, like, really, really happy where I get a B. I'm like, I want to do comedy my whole life. Like, it's cool. I'm going to do a movie with Sandberg in Hawaii. Got to be in a comedy with Batiste, an action comedy. The ones that I love, like Lethal weapon, you know, 48 hours, Die Hard, all those things that we just grew up with, I loved them.

[Interviewer]

So, yeah, you've earned the right to do them. Now you got a little place where you can say, this is what I'm doing now. And the audience goes with you. Yeah.

[Jason Momoa]

Yeah.

[Willie Geist]

Stick around for more of my conversation with Jason Momoa. Right after a quick break.

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[Willie Geist]

Welcome back now to the rest of my conversation with Jason Momoa.

[Interviewer]

Just to go back for a minute, because the genesis of your career, talking about Baywatch, Hawaii. I love this.

[Jason Momoa]

See, I was trying to move through that real quick.

[Interviewer]

I know, I know.

[Jason Momoa]

But here you are bringing up older.

[Interviewer]

But only because we don't have to talk about the show. But the way you got on the show, which is you wait in this long line of, like, more than a thousand people auditioning, and when you get up there, you make the claim that you were named Hawaii's model of the year.

[Jason Momoa]

Yeah. So there. There was. My girlfriend at the time was with. She was like a pageant thing. Yeah. And so her agents or managers were, like, running pageants and stuff like that. And so I was like, yeah, I was like, like, we made up a bunch of. Because you have to have a resume. I'm like, what am I gonna tell him? I don't have anything. I'm like, I worked on Colorado Trail Crew. Like, there's nothing I could put on that resume. So I Was like, yeah, I've done Louis Vuitton. I did some Gucci. And like, you just make some up. And then. Yeah. And then they. She was in a pageant. And then I. I took some photos and did a little pageant thing for them. And like, yeah, I was in the. Handed out the crowns. It's like some big. So we just bull our way through it. And. And it worked. I just have no fear. So it was just kind of like, yeah, I just didn't give a. Yeah.

[Interviewer]

And you got nothing to lose at that point. You're 19 years old.

[Jason Momoa]

19 years old. I'm going back to college as a biology major. I'm like. I'm like. The funny thing is, like, all my family's working on it because they do all the water safety. But the stuff we did on that show was, like, crazy. I mean, like, we're in heavy, heavy conditions. And I'm like, I know what I'm doing because of my family. So in turn, it's like, even if I didn't, I would have been working as water safety.

[Willie Geist]

Right.

[Jason Momoa]

Because that's what my family is, so.

[Interviewer]

Might as well be the star.

[Jason Momoa]

And still to this day, that was the hardest job I've ever had. Like, that shit was hard just all.

[Interviewer]

The time in the water.

[Jason Momoa]

I mean, you did 22 episodes over nine months. You're an episode a week, and you're in the water, and it doesn't matter if it's 80 degree water. When you're in it for 13, 14 hours, you're like, after lunch, it's freezing.

[Interviewer]

Yeah.

[Jason Momoa]

And you're just like, yeah. And you're constantly. And then there's the, you know, 100 naked women walking around, and you're 19 years old and, you know, just got board shorts on. Like, I gotta tell this thing not to always be awesome, you know, like, my mind control on this guy is like, I can shut it down and I can pick it up. That's how good I am. Thanks, Baywatch.

[Interviewer]

Oh, my God. My experience is when you're 19, it doesn't always list.

[Jason Momoa]

It doesn't, bro. It doesn't. You really gotta. You got to. You got to torture that guy. Just make sure he is. You don't want to look like an idiot on set.

[Interviewer]

Torture that guy. Oh, my God. All right, now we've got that on tape. That's good.

[Jason Momoa]

I'm really stoked you got the Baywatch stuff out of the way. Hopefully I'll never have to do that again. That's it. We're done.

[Interviewer]

I am Curious. I'm always curious. Somebody who stays with it. Because you're talking about between that show and Game of Thrones, like a decade. Right?

[Jason Momoa]

Yeah. And so Sergeant Atlantis for four years.

[Interviewer]

Right.

[Jason Momoa]

Which was like college.

[Interviewer]

Right.

[Jason Momoa]

So that's when I really was like, I can do this.

[Interviewer]

Right. So it feels like I'm your nine months of work.

[Jason Momoa]

You know, I got to love my cast. I'm still friends with my cast. And you're doing sci fi jargon, you know, and it's. It's nine, you know, 22 episodes. Nine. Nine months of your life up in Vancouver. And I just learned how to do it. And you're like, I'm gonna make my own stories.

[Interviewer]

Yeah.

[Jason Momoa]

And I built my own crew, and all my friends who are really talented weren't getting work, and that's why we made Friday Gypsies. So if we were holding. If I was holding the boom for my buddies who were shooting, if I was holding camera for them when they were. We would just. We just formed an alliance and. And they're still with me to this day.

[Willie Geist]

Yeah.

[Interviewer]

I love that they're.

[Jason Momoa]

They do everything. We do everything together.

[Interviewer]

Yeah. Aquaman, you mentioned 2018 changes everything for you, I think it's fair to say. Movie makes more than a billion dollars. You're a standalone superhero. You've somehow made Aquaman, like, super cool. It wasn't for those of us who.

[Jason Momoa]

Grew up watching for that. I mean, come on. Jesus Christ.

[Interviewer]

Like, oh, Aquaman's a badass.

[Jason Momoa]

Talk about hard. Yeah. I was scared.

[Interviewer]

What did that movie mean to your career? Number one, but also your life. Cause now everybody knows who you are.

[Jason Momoa]

Yeah. I mean, it did amazing things for my career. So, you know, no one needs to know about the bruises and dents and fights, but it did wonderful for my career. And now look at me, finally playing Lobo. I'm here with you. Life's good.

[Interviewer]

Life is good.

[Jason Momoa]

Yeah. That's good.

[Interviewer]

How did you grapple with the idea that you walk down the street and there's no mistaking who you are anymore, that you're that famous?

[Jason Momoa]

It's tough. But, you know, I just try to be in a good mood and as much as you can. And generally, if I'm with my kids or my lady, I try to be like, I don't get to see them. I'm not gonna break concentration for you. And just like, sorry, I'm with my family because it's so rare that I could be with my 17, 18 year old. You know what I mean? Yeah. Aside from that if I'm by myself. Yeah, let's do this. Yeah, absolutely.

[Interviewer]

It feels to me, and this is coming from the outside, like you're not that different despite everything that's happened in your career.

[Jason Momoa]

No, you're not that different a guy.

[Interviewer]

You're with the same people, you live your life, you enjoy being home. Same guy.

[Jason Momoa]

Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, absolutely. Just a lot more toys. Right. Which still don't really have a house, but we got a lot of cool toys.

[Interviewer]

We gotta get you a house.

[Jason Momoa]

I'm working on it. I like barns and like, different. Damn it. Yeah.

[Interviewer]

So let's talk about what's coming up. You mentioned the sandberg thing. Supergirl's exciting.

[Jason Momoa]

Yeah, Sandberg's coming up. That's what I'm shooting next. Supergirl's coming out. The next thing coming out before. Oh, we got Wrecking Crew's coming out. Then on the Roam Season 2 on HBO Max. It's like a handcrafted artisan's thing. So there's six episodes of that. And then Animal Friends, which is me and Ryan Reynolds. I play a bear. It's live action. It's hilarious. It's rated R. Me and Ryan Reynolds, rated R. I'm a baron. He's a Shetland pony. Yeah. Beer and popcorn. You're gonna be there. It's awesome. It's hilarious. It's freaking hilarious. And then I go to. Then it's Supergirl. I come out playing Lobo, but it's, you know, it's her movie. I'm just doing a little cameo.

[Interviewer]

Yeah.

[Willie Geist]

Yep.

[Jason Momoa]

Want to come in? You know, a little bit of that, a little bit of this.

[Interviewer]

Sure, sure.

[Jason Momoa]

And then a little thing called Dune 3.

[Interviewer]

Yeah, yeah.

[Jason Momoa]

Ended out with Dune 3. Yeah. Oh, maybe Street Fighter. It'll come out. Yeah, Street Fighter will come out before Dune. Yeah. So Street Fighter, which is, you know, I mean, literally this is the year of like childhood dreams.

[Interviewer]

Incredible.

[Jason Momoa]

I mean, I did not redo and I wish I would have. I was a Star wars fan. That's like the last one to tick off. I want to do Star wars at some point and be a bad guy. But I kind of like Dune's bigger and better. Like that's what inspired Star Wars.

[Interviewer]

Yeah.

[Jason Momoa]

So it's really cool that my childhood is that obviously Street Fighter, I get to play Blanca. That is like, I have the arcade in my garage, dude.

[Interviewer]

Really?

[Jason Momoa]

And then.

[Interviewer]

Yeah, you got the stand up arcade.

[Jason Momoa]

Absolutely. And then. And playing Lobo, which is what I thought I was originally gonna play. It's like I have every Comic from Lobo. So that's my big incredible. Yeah, so it's a good. Yeah. Was it 2018 was the last, you know, good one. 20, 26 is gonna be. Is gonna be amazing.

[Interviewer]

And then another Minecraft down the road.

[Jason Momoa]

We shoot Minecraft too after that. Yeah, we're doing another thing that's gonna be. No one knows yet, but we're gonna do Peking to Paris. I'm gonna do the endurance race from China to France. Oh yeah. 40 days racing. So our team's gonna be shooting it. Dude, when do you embrace an old Bentleys across the Mongolia.

[Interviewer]

When's your downtime and what do you do? If there is any.

[Jason Momoa]

You son of. This guy. Right now's my downtime.

[Interviewer]

This is downtown.

[Jason Momoa]

I'm just too hungover to have a beer right now. But in about two hours you'll be ready. I'll be on downtime on Fallon. Yeah, There you go. There you go.

[Interviewer]

But you know, you're not. You don't go home and sit in a hammock. You're always moving.

[Jason Momoa]

No, I did. I just got a hammock from Guatemala and I just sat. It was heaven. It was amazing. It's the most beautiful. Yeah, no, I was in. I have a. I do. There's a place I want to be in New Zealand and so I'm just hopefully going to be a resident down there.

[Interviewer]

Catch your breath for a minute.

[Jason Momoa]

Yeah, but that's where I. That's where I want to be. South island.

[Interviewer]

Before I let you go. Love all the work you do environmental for Hawaii in particular. Why is that stuff so important to you using the platform for all that?

[Jason Momoa]

I mean, the environmental aspect of it. I mean, honestly, like my thing that like geeks me out is I'm a. I was a environmentalist and that's what I wanted to do. I wanted to save the planet, I want to save the earth. And I wanted to. And so there's obviously a lot of things to do, a lot of things to help with, but I. I felt like I could chip away at single use plastic. And so, you know, I think that's almost like eight years ago I started Matanalo and just got people. I made that can that screws on and off. That was with me with ball, which.

[Interviewer]

Has become now it's everyone's business.

[Jason Momoa]

And so just so you can have it in an airport, just so people can just like have a choice of just sitting on a plane flying back from God knows where. And it's like everything else is in aluminum and there's this little tiny shot of water Dasani that's got three different types of plastic on it that you can't recycle. Right. It's just killing our planet. And also the idea of bottling some water in California, shipping it over on a boat that takes emissions to give it to the people who have the freshest water in the world, let them just sits bakes in the sun. We drink the plastic water bottle, put it into our landfills or in our ocean is the most craziest idea. So we've now eliminated monanalo and we've turned it into. It's a little bit harder.

[Willie Geist]

Yeah.

[Jason Momoa]

And you can, and this can be, these caps can be resealed. So think of it as like going to a restaurant or the milkman, you know what I mean? Like milkman brings you milk, you drink the milk, you put the bottle back in, it goes away, gets cleaned, they put it back in. You go to a restaurant, eat off the plate, you, you leave the silverware, you come back, they got a new one for you.

[Interviewer]

Yeah.

[Jason Momoa]

So in a hotel we'll drop off. And so like, you know, places like four season. I mean we're, we're trying to do everyone in hospitality because everyone comes, tourists come, they drink the water bottle. You just have a crate that goes into your, into your room, you drink it, you take it to the beach and all you have to do is just bring it back, put it in there and there'll be a new one. And it's a circular system because it happens on the site. It uses local water, so it's fresh water, it's purified, they put the minerals back into it, get to the right ph and it's like fresh beautiful water. And say anything like Covid hit again and stuff sets down. You can still run it off because those people run off the local system. So hospitals, schools, we're in commandment of schools and like where kids have to be responsible for it and they can go in and be a part of like resealing it, but it's double sterilized and it's, it's just being in all these places where it can be responsible and going to the big businesses because I think now people can make the choice. Yeah, but now it's pretty cool. Like when you come to our island, if I can, you know that it's island earth and we were completely self contained. If I can make that blueprint very quickly and get people in, in schools and, and businesses, hospitality, like changing that and tourists taking it back home with Those ideas, then we can branch off and be able to take it to different places, but just show how we can turn the, like, turn those boats back. Like, we don't need your plastic water bottles.

[Interviewer]

I find too, if I have the choice, I'm choosing that. It's just we didn't used to have the choice. They put the plastic in front of you.

[Willie Geist]

Okay.

[Jason Momoa]

Yeah. And I bring mine everywhere. But I mean, imagine just being at work and you just go to the water cooler, you just pick one up, boom, you have it. And then when you're done for the day, you're responsible, put it back.

[Interviewer]

Yeah.

[Jason Momoa]

Like, grow up.

[Interviewer]

Good for you. Yeah.

[Jason Momoa]

It's not that hard. Yeah. Teach you the kindergarten, but you got.

[Interviewer]

To put it in front of people.

[Jason Momoa]

Yeah. So, like, this is, you know, once everyone was doing it, but it's owned by, you know, it's the two, you know, it's the red, red guy and the blue guy. And they can. Everyone's owns each other and. And so at least we can counter shift with that going like, hey, now we're eliminating waste. It's circular. It's healthier for you. It's healthy for the plant. There's no emissions. It's like, it all makes sense in. Yeah, it just makes sense. And so it's just trying to get people on the same page as that.

[Interviewer]

Watching your mind work, even right here, makes me wonder what else you're cooking up.

[Jason Momoa]

You don't want to be.

[Interviewer]

Do I dare ask?

[Jason Momoa]

23 Guinness a day just, bro, if you asked me, you'd be like, what?

[Willie Geist]

What?

[Jason Momoa]

Yeah, dude. It's just.

[Interviewer]

What's the most serious idea you have in front of you right now that you want to do? Working on think could happen.

[Jason Momoa]

Yeah, because I'm really trying to work with. I mean, we moved a lot of things in Hawaii, changed a lot of things. And so I'm excited to get, you know, if we're talking about acting the film board and things like that. There's a lot of things we're trying to uplift and do. And then there's also the, you know, the UNIP side where it's like, you know, working for the UN and being, you know.

[Interviewer]

Yeah.

[Jason Momoa]

Helping, you know, life below water is what I work with. And so deep sea mining and trying to be like with our, you know, our president now, trying to just kind of like navigate the things that are important and how we can help and the importance of listening to what planet Earth's happening. And we need to save certain things. If you want to Have a nice beautiful world. So just the passion is the ocean and I love it. And so in our forest and just being able to like give my. Put a spotlight on things. Maybe I didn't make that, but I can just shine a light on that. Great. So there's a lot. That's a lot.

[Interviewer]

Yeah, that's a lot.

[Jason Momoa]

We're doing, we're doing like. We started doing some really fun things this year. I started playing music and I started DJing, which has always been a dream.

[Interviewer]

Yeah.

[Jason Momoa]

Playing music. And I'm playing with my best friends because I started this vodka company like 10 years ago with my other best friend we designed with. And now it's everywhere. It's in all 50 states. But now I'm gonna go open the CL Towers in Dubai. I'm gonna go play in Dubai. Like I'm leaving London premiere to go to Dubai and play for everyone there. And we got Maili in there so I'm gonna be in the tallest hotel there. And obviously we're in England and been traveling around so we've been doing these like fun nights of like playing our favorite music with people and just sharing the vodka. Cause we won like every award you could ever possible win. Yeah, it's just beautiful. Like affordable luxury. Kind of like sippable vodka.

[Interviewer]

Cuz it.

[Jason Momoa]

Vodka just tastes so we want it like tastes good. Dude, I wish I try to get you a bottle cuz it's really good. We just drink it like neat. Yeah. Just really nothing. We want people to drink it in room temperature. Yeah, it's like $24 like tears.

[Interviewer]

Dude, you're living the dream out here, man. Buddy, love watching it talking to you man. Thank you very much.

[Jason Momoa]

We should do them. Thank you. Let's just make this a must. Yeah, yeah. Just catch up in different places.

[Interviewer]

I like that.

[Jason Momoa]

I do too. Vodka got a lot of catch up on you.

[Interviewer]

Yeah, man.

[Willie Geist]

My big thanks to Jason for a great conversation that at times is all over the place in the best possible way. I loved it. The Wrecking Crew, his new movie begins streaming globally on prime video on January 28th. My thanks to all of you for listening again this week. If you want to hear these conversations with our guests every week, be sure to click follow so you never miss an episode. And don't forget to tune in to Sunday Today every weekend on NBC to see these interviews in living color. I'm Willie Geist.

[Interviewer]

We'll see you right back here next.

[Willie Geist]

Week on the Sunday sit down podcast.

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