Jason Momoa Bloopers That'll Make You Love Him Even More

Jason Momoa has long been a force of nature, due to his massive size, fierce athleticism and skill for intense scowls, on the backs of which he has built a reputation playing serious, savage warriors. 

From Khal Drogo to Declan Harp to Baba Voss, you could be forgiven for thinking of him as a brooding, bloodthirsty meathead. But as "Dune" character Duncan Idaho, he subverted expectations with true compassion; as Aquaman, he mixed lighthearted playfulness with some serious butt-kicking. 

Offscreen, Momoa has a down-to-earth, larger-than-life love of pranks, good lines and comic timing. Which is why his fans love his unguarded moments; some unrehearsed goofiness has even yielded popular memes. Below are some of the best "bloopers" Momoa has given them on film and TV sets. Whether it's witty banter between takes or a planned prank, such moments show a man in love with life, with a trickster god's sense of humor and a laugh that could win over the hardest cynic.

Film fans are so accustomed to seeing Momoa as a dashing, handsome, wild-maned man that the subversion of his image is what made his 2020 Rocket Mortgage Super Bowl ad so memorable. 

The commercial shows Momoa coming home to unwind, transforming himself from big action stud to a balding, uncool string-bean. He takes off his boots, dropping in height, then removes his prosthetic arms and torso to show gaunt twigs and a nearly-concaved chest. Finally he takes off his hair. 

Obviously, the muscle-shrinking was special effects — but the wig was real, and it was glorious. As viewers watch him pretend to struggle a benchpress, tube-armed Momoa struggling [then] wife Lisa Bonet assists, it's hilarious. As it turns out, a behind-the-scenes video shows he and Bonet were having just as much fun between takes. The irony, perhaps, is that for Momoa, playing a scrawny, balding homebody is probably the biggest stretch he's ever had to make as an actor.

When Jason Momoa hosted "Saturday Night Live" in 2018, it was something of a coming-out party. After more than a decade of scene-stealing work on the periphery of projects like "Game of Thrones," he was there to promote "Aquaman," far and away his most high-profile role. Appropriately, he gave a heartfelt monologue to start the show — even if much of it was a gag.

Explaining how he wanted to host "SNL" earlier but he was too busy building a successful career and making beautiful babies with his "smoking hot wife," Momoa then began to cry. Choking back the tears, Momoa told himself not to cry because "If you cry, it'll rain in Hawaii." Finally settling his emotions, it all led into a song about how he's the strongest man in the world.

While self-deprecation and exaggerated emotions are a central part of many "SNL" opening monologues, Momoa took it to another level. He somehow managed to both celebrate and make fun of his success, and even take jabs at his tough guy reputation while affirming that he is, in fact, one of the true Hollywood supermen.

Another Momoa prank had director Francis Lawrence in on the joke, this time on the set of Momoa's Apple+ series "See," where from 2019 – 2022 he was cast as the leader of a tribe in a world where everyone is blind. In one key scene, he was to preside over the birth of a pair of twins, and when it came time to film, the plan was to use real live twin babies to capture the realism. For one take, however, they decided to switch it up.

As he and costar Alfre Woodard recounted to Kelly Clarkson in 2019, after performing several takes with the real infants, he snuck outside the birthing cave and grabbed a pair of baby dolls. Then he walked back in and tripped on purpose, falling on the fake babies and crushing them — and causing the crew and scene co-star Hera Hilmar to think there had been an accident. 

"I fell on the babies," he winced, recounting the joke to moans from Clarkson's audience. "I don't feel good about it. But, it was funny."

The Haka is a traditional Maori dance, full of aggressive movements, stomping and chanting. It has been used traditionally in encounters between rival groups, from war to sporting events (as the All Blacks popularized). Although Momoa is of Hawaiian descent (related to the Maori through a common Polynesian ancestry but not technically Maori), he was quoted as saying his line also reaches to Aotearoa, which the New Zealand Maori call their homeland. Which explains why he can constantly be seen screaming at the camera between takes.

Momoa got to stage a Haka in full during the "Aquaman" premiere. It was a wild, passionate dance, a dynamic flash mob adding some ceremonial and cultural electricity not normally seen on Hollywood red carpets. In 2017, he participated in one to help fire up UFC fighter Mark Hunt, he dedicated one to Polynesia in 2019 calling it "one of the greatest moments in my life," and one was written into a scene on "See" so Momoa could display his skills. It's a great reminder that while most of Jason Momoa's offscreen action is joking, he also possesses the same warlike intensity of his characters.

The trident is Aquaman's most distinctive props, and Momoa has spent a lot of time on superhero movies carrying the distinctive weapon. It's no surprise, then, that he's been known to have some fun with it.

In behind-the-scenes footage, he is often brandishing the trident playfully, grunting with it in a joking alpha manner. At the "Aquaman" premiere, Momoa did his best Bo Jackson, breaking a trident over his knee. The most inspired use of is trident, however, may have taken place very far from Hollywood.

On the island of Oahu in 2019, apparently some kids came up to Momoa and asked him if they could play with the trident. Momoa took it one step further, crashing a wedding with the pointy staff in his hand. He even photobombed the happy couple by playfully poking at them with the tines. It was a truly regal, comical display; in other words, a classic Momoa move.

To capture the natural wilderness where his "See" character leads a blind tribe, the show is filmed in often frigid British Columbia. 

In one memorable scene from the show, Voss leads his people in a water fight. To film it, Momoa and much of the cast were immersed for long periods (for 5 days!) in the area's chilly waters. In real life, as fans can see in this video, the cold temps didn't bother the always gun-ho Momoa. 

"This place is unbelievable," he marvels. "This water is so clean, and we're gonna get ready to do a fight scene in it."

His unique combination of awe over his surroundings and humor at the prospect of spending so much time in the frigid water not only makes you like Jason Momoa's joie de vivre, but it's almost enough to make you want to go swimming in a cold, alpine lake. On second thought, maybe it would only be fun if Jason Momoa himself was there as well.