Jason Momoa: “I’m not that good of an actor”

Huh.  There’s something you won’t hear from most actors.

Jason Momoa, star of Game of Thrones and Conan the Barbarian, was likely hired for his Conan role based not only on his looks, but also his intensity.  But please, don’t think I’m shortchanging him on his acting ability: When asked by Star Pulse if he had trouble shifting between his two warrior roles of Drogo on Game of Thrones and Conan, Momoa joked in response by saying, “No, because I’m not that good of an actor.  I don’t get stuck. It’s not like, ‘You’re not Drogo! You can’t go around killing people!’  I did Conan first. Game of Thrones got me Conan, but I shot Conan first.”

After initially joking about his acting ability, Momoa admitted there was a difference between the way the two characters carry themselves and, along with that, how he carries himself “Then when I went to do [Game of Thrones], I just wanted to transform my body. To walk around like a king is not very [normal.] In my house, when my wife says to do the dishes it’s like, ‘Yes, ma’am.’  To walk around with that kind of air like a king was a lot harder for me.”  As inspiration for his Conan role Momoa didn’t just research the character’s long history of appearances, from the original Robert E. Howard short stories to the groundbreaking Frank Franzetta paintings and later comic books, he also turned to wildlife and world cinema.  Momoa explains, “I went and studied big cats, lions and panthers and just the way they move, how I wanted to tuck my hand. If you looked at a lion you’re sort of like, ‘Holy sh*t.’ You don’t want to make eye contact. I just wanted to have that presence in just the way he prowls and stalks his victims. Then I studied a lot of samurai films. I wanted to incorporate that, to take a broadsword and to wield it like a samurai sword was something that I wanted to do, so I studied a lot of films. I did everything, like reverse grip, and I just wanted to put that Asian influence into this Barbarian thing, bring some grace to it.”

Did Momoa refer to the original Arnold Schwarzenegger Conan films?  The actor pleads ignorance, but admits he will watch it.  “I’m going to go watch the movie right after this because it is such a huge impact on a lot of people. It would be a slightly older than me, that generation. It’s so huge to them. I’m going to go back and watch. I think it probably needs to be redone. It’s been 30 years and some amazing things have happened in film. I know it’s big shoes but at the same time I wouldn’t have taken the job if I didn’t know I could crush it and absolutely make it better than what it’s ever been.”

So while he might say he’s not that good of an actor, he certainly does have confidence!

Conan the Barbarian opens in theaters today.