Aquaman star Jason Momoa admits he gave up smoking after near-death experience
Hollywood star Jason Momoa has spoken of a near-death experience at sea - and said it made him quit smoking. The beefcake actor is famous for his role in the Aquaman superhero movies battling to rule the underwater kingdom of Atlantis.
But Jason said he faced his own trouble in the ocean with a fight for life when he was surfing in his native Hawaii with three pals. He revealed: "We paddled 13 miles down the coast and you're kind of almost a mile offshore. We're about seven miles into it and my leash snapped.
And it's so windy on Maui and so the board just went, I couldn't even see it anymore." It comes after Taylor Swift sparks engagement rumours as fans spot Travis Kelce's lock screen.
Jason, 46, said he was being battered by 10-foot waves crashing down on his head in a notoriously dangerous part of the water surfers dub "s***f***s". He continued: "It pulls you out and you just get hit with these waves.
"So I was stuck in this crazy spot and unknown to me I was really on the outer reef and they couldn't see me. I had my paddle and I was waving it and they couldn't see me.
"And the waves were so big, it basically took my shorts off it was so f***ing big. I was out there for a while and then I just couldn't see anyone coming to get me. And I couldn't move anymore and my arms and my legs gave up after, you know, I was out there for a while."
Jason said he was thinking of his baby daughter, who was just three-months-old at the time, when his friend Larry Hamilton came to his aid. He explained: "He came from behind and I had already given up. My body stopped, like, I couldn't move my arms anymore and I bubbled down.
"And then my toe hit the outer reef. Like, I literally gave up and I'm screaming inside and my foot just hits the outer reef. And I don't know if it was a f***ing whale or like it just could have been one rock. But I just reached down, grab it. I jump up.
"I get hit by another wave and I dig my feet into the coral. And I'm literally in the middle of the ocean. And I'm just... I could barely put my lips above just to breathe and get a break. But I had already given up. So it's like you've already given up and died and have a second chance at it.
"Then I still stayed out there for like 10 minutes. I was hanging on the side of this reef. And I hear Larry come from behind and he's on my board towing his board. And I get on and he's like, 'Are you alright? I'm like, 'No.' I remember seeing him, but I was 10 minutes dead already."
Jason admitted to the SmartLess podcast that his fear that he was going to die was so great that he prayed to his ancestors. He also told the hosts - fellow actors Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes and Will Arnett - that the scare prompted him to quit smoking.
The Game of Thrones actor said: "I have seven more miles to paddle. My feet are covered in blood. And I'm just literally looking for my ancestors just paddling the rest of this way, head down and we get out.
"I do believe in my ancestors. I prayed to my grandmother and my grandfather. I was reaching and I was in a bad position and if you're stuck out there in that kind of waves with no board, you're f***ed and there's just no way to swim in. I don't have that. So it was a bad spot to be in.
"And I mean, I could have been trolling, there could be sharks everywhere, but I'm just like trolling this whole f***ing coast. I used to smoke and I used to smoke like two, three packs a day. I couldn't stop for my kids, I couldn't stop for my ex. I couldn't stop smoking.
"And the moment I came out, I never smoked again. Like, I just died. Like I tried and tried, but like I couldn't do it again because I just, I gave up. Like, I gave up my life."
*The SmartLess podcast interview with Jason Momoa is on general release from August 11.
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