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Where it all began - Jason Momoa muscled his way into the world on August 1, 1979, born in Nānākuli, a small Hawaiian community.

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Meet the Momoas - His mother, Coni, is from Iowa and of German descent. His dad, Joseph, is from a native Hawaiian family.

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Marine biologist - Momoa had a regular education in high school. A true aqua man, he majored in marine biology, before switching to wildlife biology.

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Model behavior - In addition to being studious at school, Momoa also got into modeling, after being discovered by trendsetters Eric Chandler and Takeo Kobayashi.

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Model of the Year - In 1999, Momoa was voted Hawaii's Model of the Year. He even walked the runway at a Louis Vuitton show.

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Joining 'Baywatch' - When he was 19, Momoa turned back to the ocean, working part-time in a surf shop. Not long after, he would get his first role in 'Baywatch Hawaii.'

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The best move? - He starred as Jason Ioane in the TV series, which almost killed his career. "I didn't even know how to act. [...] No one would take me seriously after 'Baywatch.' I lived in the shadow of that for a long time."

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Opening doors - However, this did lead him to start acting professionally. He appeared in shows like 'North Shore,' and learned martial arts for his role as Ronon Dex in 'Stargate: Atlantis.'

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Love - In 2005, Momoa started a relationship with actress Lisa Bonet. 

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Fighting off-set - In November 2008, Momoa got into a bar fight in Hollywood. His face was slashed by a broken beer glass.

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Battle scars - The actor received over 100 stitches during surgery. His scar can still be seen to this day.

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Meet the family - Momoa and Bonet welcomed their first child, Lola, in July 2007. Their second child, Nakoa-Wolf, was born in December 2008.

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Becoming the barbarian - The actor got his biggest break yet in 2011, when he starred as the titular character in 'Conan the Barbarian.'

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Got a part in 'GoT' - After that, Momoa joined the cast of 'Game of Thrones.' He won the role of tribal warrior Khal Drogo. In his audition, Momoa performed a Haka, a dance from the Māori culture.

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Partners in crime -

'Game of Thrones' introduced Momoa to new possibilities, and he directed his first film in 2014. 'Road to Paloma' starred Momoa and Lisa Bonet. He then went on to a phase acting in smaller roles.

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Horrifying stuff - The same year, Momoa starred in horror film 'Wolves.' He also starred in the sci-fi horror 'Debug,' written and directed by 'Stargate: Atlantis' co-star David Hewlett.

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Maneater - Soon after, he played a cannibal in thriller film 'The Bad Batch.'

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Continuing to experiment -

The actor continued to work on left field projects, like indie thriller 'Sugar Mountain,' as well as SundanceTV show 'The Red Road.' A more clear-cut hit was the TV series 'Frontier,' in which he starred from 2016 to 2018.

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Meet Aquaman - After showing his versatility, the actor landed the biggest role of his career as the DC superhero Aquaman.

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First appearance -

The actor made his first Aquaman appearance in 2016, making a cameo in 'Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.' It was also the first time in which Aquaman had appeared in a live-action film.

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Joining the 'Justice League' - Aquaman got more screentime in 2017, with a leading role in 'Justice League.'

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Not playing around - The same year, Momoa joined another big franchise, signing on to star in a movie series based on the 'Just Cause' video games.

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Self defense - He also took up Brazilian jiu-jitsu, as if Momoa wasn't tough enough.

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Getting official - Momoa and Lisa Bonet were rumored to have married in November 2007. In fact, they got married in October 2017.

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New responsibilities - Through their marriage, Momoa formally became the stepfather of actress Zoë Kravitz. Sadly, in January 2022 Momoa and Bonet announced their split.

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'Aquaman' - Momoa got his big movie in 2018, with the release of 'Aquaman.' The film made well over US$1 billion worldwide, and received some positive reviews. A sequel is slated for March 2023. More recently, Momoa also appeared as Aquaman in 'Zack Snyder's Justice League' (2021).

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The Apple doesn't fall far - There were more big moves for Momoa in 2019 as well. For instance, he starred in Apple TV+'s 'See.'

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Joining 'Dune' - He also landed a role in 'Dune' (2021), a Denis Villeneuve (pictured) movie based on the Frank Hebert novel. He plays Duncan Idaho.

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The future -

Besides the 'Aquaman' sequel, watch out for Momoa in films 'Slumberland' and 'The Last Manhunt.' He's also currently filming for 'Fast X' from the 'Fast & Furious' franchise.

See also: What are these actors doing after 'Game of Thrones'?

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