Jason Momoa reveals the moment he feared he would DIE during 'brutal' surfing accident in Hawaii
The 46-year-old Aquaman star revealed on the latest episode of the Smartless podcast that he nearly drowned while on a surf outing off the coast of Maui, Hawaii, in 2007.
'I was doing this paddle, we went in at Jaws,' Momoa said, referring to the surf break located on the northern shore of Maui, which draws the world's top surfers to its enormous — and potentially deadly — waves.
Momoa — who is currently dating the Andor actress Adria Arjona — explained to hosts Jason Bateman, Will Arnett and Sean Hayes that his group of paddle boarders were taking a 13-mile route along the island's coast when his situation took a dire turn.
'You're kind of almost a mile offshore, and then my leash snapped. We're about seven miles into it and my leash snapped, and it's so windy on Maui,' he said.
Momoa, who was at the time starring on Stargate: Atlantis, said he was 'trained pretty well' at the time, so he initially felt 'fine,' but things took a turn for the worse as waves began to batter him.
'I took quite a few on the head. They're pretty big, like 10-foot Hawaiian waves,' he shared. 'But I'm probably half a mile at that point offshore.'
But as he began to tire from staying afloat in the chaotic sea, Momoa got to a point where he was 'stuck in this crazy spot,' which he thought may have been the outer ridge of a coral reef, which kept him out of sight of his friends.
'I was really on the outer reef and they couldn't see me,' he said. 'I had my paddle and I was waving it and they couldn't see me, and the waves were so big.'
The actor — who was still two years away from his breakout turn on Game Of Thrones — began to panic as he thought about his three-month-old daughter Lola.
Momoa shared his daughter, now 18, with his ex-wife Lisa Bonet, and the former couple later welcome their son Nakoa-Wolf, 16.
'I just lost it. I was like, "Oh s***,"' Moma admitted.
Momoa said he began to just drift in the water as he feared that he had been left behind by the rest of his group.
'I was out there for a while, and I just couldn't see anyone coming to get me. I couldn't move anymore, and my arms and my legs gave up,' he recalled. 'My body stopped. Like I couldn't move my arms anymore, and I bubbled down. Then my toe hit the outer reef.
'I literally gave up, and I'm screaming inside,' Momoa said of his moment of despair.
But he got the motivation to go on at the last possible moment when one of his friends spotted him and swam out toward him for support.
'I get back on the board and we start paddling,' he recalled, adding that it wasn't possible to just swim the shorter distance back to shore. 'He's like, "You got to go out," so we just keep paddling out.'
Momoa and his friend still had seven more miles to go on the journey, even as the 'brutal' waves battered them the whole way.
By that point, the Dune actor was bleeding profusely from cutting himself on the reef lurking just below the surface.
'My feet are covered in blood,' he recounted. 'And I'm just literally [with] my ancestors just paddling the rest of this way, head down and we get out.'
Momoa's near-death experience was followed by an incredible career resurgence that he's still in the midst of today.
He become one of the biggest stars on the planet after scoring a major role on Game Of Thrones as Khal Drogo, and he followed that part up with his role as Aquaman in multiple DC Comics films.
Momoa also tried his hand at playing in the Fast And Furious sequel Fast X and was part of the ensemble cast of the hit video game adaptation A Minecraft Movie earlier this year.
He also earned rave reviews as Duncan Idaho in 2021's Dune: Part One.
After skipping the second film in the Timothée Chalamet–starring series, he's set to return to the for the sequel Dune: Messiah, which is now filming.
Momoa can currently be seen on the nine-episode miniseries Chief Of War, which began airing on Apple TV+ on August 1.
The actor — who is also an executive producer on the show — stars as the real-life warrior chief Kaʻiana, who in the late 18th century rebelled against Kamehameha I's attempts to conquer and unify the major Hawaiian islands.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
13 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
WNBA's hottest star Sophie Cunningham reveals her true thoughts on league's sex toy scandal
WNBA superstar Sophie Cunningham has lifted the lid on the shocking moment she was hit by a sex toy thrown from the stands. The league spent a week embroiled in controversy after fans repeatedly threw multi-colored sex toys onto various courts, with Indiana Fever star Cunningham perhaps the most affected by it when one struck her in the foot. She laughed it off in the moment, but has now spoken in depth about the incident, which forced security to be stepped up across the entire WNBA. On her new podcast alongside influencer West Wilson, Cunningham said: 'I feel like I brought that onto myself because I tweeted,' referencing the post in which she told her followers: 'stop throwing dildos on the court… you're going to hurt one of us.' 'Dude, that tweet got over 40 million views,' she continued. 'I tweeted it like, joking, but also a little bit serious. 'We were playing against LA, I was at the free throw line, the girl shot and then I felt something hit my foot and I thought someone had kicked me or whatever. I looked down and it was a dildo and it scared me, I jumped up and everyone was like, "why are you freaking out?" My mind just wasn't expecting that. Cunningham was seen visibly flinching after the erotic item was thrown onto the court 'The game stopped, my train of thought just went... I just got hit by a dildo! It was like a bounce-hit, it scared the s**t out of me. At least it didn't hit me in the face or anything.' To conclude, she insisted: 'We don't [support it]. We have to [move on].' The controversy now appears to have dried up, with over a week now having passed since one was thrown. Multiple fans were arrested for their parts in the prank, and security had to be increased throughout the league, with bags even banned from being allowed into arenas.
Daily Mail
13 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Georgia Love takes a swipe at ex-husband Lee Elliott in shock post with another man
Georgia Love has thrown subtle shade at her ex-husband Lee Elliott in the wake of their divorce announcement. The Bachelorette Australia star took to Instagram on Friday to share a snap cuddled up with her 'soulmate' Abir Ahmed. Abir, Georgia's best friend since she was 14 years old, could be seen with his arm wrapped around her shoulders as they looked out at the New York City skyline. Georgia, 35, opted for a bright red frock while her platonic significant other donned a simple white t-shirt. 'Who says a soulmate has to be a romantic partner?' she captioned the post, which appeared to be a burn aimed at Lee and their nine year marriage. Georgia and Abir recently vacationed in the Caribbean together in the same week her ex, 44, moved out of their marital home. The former reality TV star has shared a number photos from her luxury getaway on Instagram, including a snap in which she and Abir locked lips. The duo were posing for a friendly photo when Abir embraced Georgia and pulled her in for a comically open-mouthed kiss. 'I came, I saw, I conquered,' he captioned the three-way picture, which also saw him laughing as he walked away from a stunned Georgia. Georgia has posted several more photos with her best pal since then, enjoying some fun in the sun with their other friends during the island escape. The friends had been living it up on a Carnival cruise sailing around the Caribbean before heading back to New York City, where Abir is based. Georgia and Abir have been friends for a while, with the Bachelorette star leaning on him for support after her split from Lee. She has even replaced a photo of herself and Lee in her home with a picture of her male best friend in a brutal move post-breakup. The journalist took to her Instagram a few weeks ago to reveal her new home setup, which included a photo with Abir. The image showed the pair warmly embracing and smiling for the camera at her real-life bachelorette party in 2021. Abir was also there with Georgia when she jetted off to the US over the New Year amid rumours she and Lee had split. It comes after Lee sparked speculation that he has been enjoying a romance with radio star Carrie Bickmore. According to Woman's Day, the pair have been spending a lot of time together at Carrie's home in recent weeks. The publication claimed they were introduced by mutual friends and the relationship is 'heating up quickly'. 'They've been trying hard to keep things under wraps,' a source told the magazine. 'But there's definitely something romantic going on. They're a beautiful couple!' Lee and Georgia, who first met on the 2016 season of The Bachelorette, announced their separation with identical posts to Instagram in May.
The Independent
42 minutes ago
- The Independent
'The Traitors' is opening its doors to everyday people. Here's how you can join the TV competition
The U.S. version of ' The Traitors ' has brought a group of public figures to a castle in the Scottish Highlands for a game of deceit, with hundreds of thousands of dollars up for grabs. Now, the Emmy award-winning competition will open its doors to everyday people. NBC is now casting for a civilian version of the popular Peacock series, the network announced Thursday. The competition reality series, an American spin-off to its British counterpart, had only cast celebrities for its first three seasons, the last of which aired early this year. The new version will bring a group of everyday people together to play what the host, Alan Cumming, called his 'treacherous game' in a video announcing the public casting. Cumming is set to host the new version as well, with production for the show starting in 2026, according to the network. Those who are interested in participating can apply now on the show's website. The fourth season of the celebrity version is set to launch next year, and a fifth season has already been confirmed. The star-studded cast for season 4, announced in June, includes reality stars from 'Love Island,' 'Big Brother' and 'Survivor.' 'We're thrilled to be working with NBC to open up the experience to a new group of civilian players, whose stories and strategies will make the gameplay even more unpredictable – and, we hope, even more addictive for viewers,' Stephen Lambert, CEO of Studio Lambert, the producers of both the Peacock and NBC versions, said in a statement. The show features a group of contestants who participate in a murder mystery game similar to Clue or Mafia. A subset of the cast are secretly labeled as traitors and must work together to eliminate the other contestants, who are considered faithfuls. On the line is a prize fund worth up to $250,000. If the faithful manage to eliminate all the traitors, then they share the money. But, if a traitor makes it to the end, they take it all. The British version uses the same location and has used civilian contestants from the start. Casting everyday people will allow complete strangers to meet for the first time, a 'unique opportunity' that 'will be an incredible watch,' said Sharon Vuong, the executive vice president of unscripted programming at NBCUniversal Entertainment. "This new version for NBC offers a unique opportunity for the cast and audience to meet each other for the first time and we know it will be incredible to watch,' Vuong said in a statement. The psychological adventure has found reality TV gold, and its third season premiered as the No. 1 unscripted series in the U.S., according to a release by NBC. The show also recently received five Emmy nominations for season three and previously took home two of the awards for season two.
