Hawaii-born actor Jason Momoa is on the verge of becoming a household name. The local boy hits the big screen this weekend as the iconic warrior, "Conan the Barbarian." It’s an action-hero role that made Arnold Schwarzenegger famous.
"Ah, I think Jason going walk in his own slippers," said Hollywood stunt coordinator Brian Keaulana.
Family and friends aren’t the only ones who are confident.
"I was going to kill it," said Momoa. "I know I was going to kill it. I loved it. I’m a fan. When you’re that big of a fan, I don’t know, I just know my level of things I’m going to be good at. I just knew this was something I would excel at."
Movie critics saw Momoa as a gutsy choice for the lead role, a relative unknown on the silver screen. But Keaulana, Momoa’s uncle, is not surprised.
"He’s always been one for you know great achievements and stuff," said Keaulana. "So proud of him that’s for sure. Long road, you know, a lot of hard work on his part."
Momoa beefed up his 6-foot-5 inch frame to 235 lb. with six months of grueling workouts and a strict diet.
"When he came back after the show and visited us guys, he was so just cut up and you know so much in shape," said Keaulana. "He came a long way from Baywatch."
How long?
Take a look at some rare footage of Momoa in 1999 during his Baywatch Hawaii audition.
"Yeah, so that way I can just be down the beach and everybody will no I’m a reject so that way I can just be down the beach and everybody will know I’m a reject no thanks Mitch! I trained to be a county lifeguard not some second rate cabana boy."
Momoa landed the role as lifeguard Jason Ioane.
"I hope the people of Hawaii like what they see because we’re busting our butts out here."
Momoa worked hard on his craft while building his physique. He trained with Keaulana at Makaha Beach, running underwater with boulders in his arms.
"He was so focussed when he was training, carrying rocks, swimming all that — you know some parts he was weak at — and then he would just practice, practice, practice and become stronger," said Keaulana.
And he continued to land more roles on shows like North Shore, Stargate Atlantis and HBO’s television series Game of Thrones. Not bad for a guy who was discovered by designer Takeo Kikuchi in 1999 and went on to win Hawaii’s Model of the Year.
"Everybody proud you know, everybody just ecstatic, cannot wait till the movie come out,"’ said Keaulana.
The former California governor has already given Momoa a thumbs up.
"He saw it and he said yeah dude, good job," said Momoa. "He was happy with it. It makes me feel fantastic. It’s literally like the Sean Connery and I’m the Daniel Craig of Bond. You know, you can’t really beat Sean Connery at Bond, but Daniel Craig did something really amazing too, you know?
"Conan the Barbarian unreal!" said Keaulana.
See the original article at: KHON2 Local News
