Jason Momoa reveals he nearly drowned while surfing in Hawaii: ‘I gave up'
Jason Momoa appeared on the 'Smartless' podcast Monday and recounted the time he almost drowned off the coast of Maui 18 years ago.
'I was doing this paddle, we went in at Jaws,' the 'Aquaman' star, 46, said, referring to the island's biggest surf break. 'We paddled like 13 miles down the coast. You're kind of almost a mile offshore, and then my leash snapped.'
8 Jason Momoa in an Instagram video.
Jason Momoa/Instagram
Momoa explained that he was 'trained pretty well' but he still 'took quite a few [waves] on the head.'
'They're pretty big, like 10-foot Hawaiian waves,' he recalled. 'But I'm probably half a mile at that point offshore. And it's actually this place is called 'S–f—s' because there's all this water that pulls out and of a channel there, [and] you just get hit with these waves.'
8 Jason Momoa in 'Aquaman 2.'
©Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection
8 Jason Momoa surfing in Hawaii in Dec. 2021.
MEGA
8 Jason Momoa riding a surfboard in Hawaii.
MEGA
'I was stuck in this crazy spot, which is probably the outer reef and unknown to me. I was really on the outer reef and they couldn't see me,' Momoa explained. 'I had my paddle and I was waving it and they couldn't see me, and the waves were so big.'
The 'Game of Thrones' alum said that the terrifying moment made him think of his and Lisa Bonet's then-3-month-old daughter, Lola Iolani.
'I looked in, and I was just like—my daughter at that time was 3 months old—and I just lost it,' he remembered.
8 Jason Momoa at the 'Highest 2 Lowest' red carpet at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival.
Getty Images
'I was out there for a while, and I just couldn't see anyone coming to get me,' Momoa continued. 'I couldn't move anymore, and my arms and my legs gave up after I was out there for a while.'
'My body stopped,' he shared. 'Like I couldn't move my arms anymore, and I bubbled down. Then my my toe hit the outer reef. I literally gave up, and I'm screaming inside.'
8 Jason Momoa in 'Chief of War.'
Courtesy of Apple
Luckily, Momoa was able to grab the coral and eventually one of his surfing friends foun him. But due to the heavy currents, the pair lost their boards as they headed for the shore.
'I have seven more miles to paddle. My feet are covered in blood, and I'm just literally [with] my ancestors just paddling the rest of this way, head down, and we get out,' Momoa said, confirming they made it out of the ocean.
8 Jason Momoa swimming in Kauai, Hawaii.
SplashNews.com
8 Jason Momoa at the 'Chief of War' premiere in Hawaii on July 18.
Marco Garcia/Shutterstock
The 'Dune' actor also said that the traumatizing ordeal forced him to finally quit smoking.
'I used to smoke two, three packs a day. I couldn't stop for my kids, I couldn't stop for my ex, I couldn't stop smoking,' he explained. 'And the moment I came out, I never smoked again. Like, I just died. I tried and tried, but I couldn't do it again because I just gave up. Like, I gave up my life.'
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