I think each and every one of us is attracted to the idea of having a ‘childhood sweetheart’. Someone who we go on to settle down with and begin a family.
But as high school comes to an end and the real word beckons, full of dirty pints and one night stands, we lose touch with the naivety of our younger selves and tend to sack off anyone we fancied as kids.
Jason Momoa defied this reality somewhat by marrying Lisa Bonet with whom he had been besotted since he was a young lad in Hawaii.
Having eventually met in 2005 at a jazz club in New York City through mutual friends, Momoa, 38, and Bonet, 49, married in an intimate ceremony last October.
Speaking to James Corden about the moment he first laid eyes on the love of his life, he said:
Ever since I was like, 8 years old and I saw her on the TV, I was like, ‘Mommy, I want that one’. I’m like, ‘I’m going to stalk you for the rest of my life and I’m going to get you.’
I’m a full-fledged stalker. I didn’t tell her that until we had two babies, otherwise, I’d be creepy and weird. But yeah, [I’d] just always wanted to meet her. She was a queen, always.
He added:
We just happened to be in the right place at the right time. I actually had dreaded my hair for her. I had dreadlocks, she had dreadlocks. I literally turned around and I see her and she goes, ‘I’m Lisa.’ I turned around to my friend and I [pretended to scream]. I had f—ing fireworks going off inside, man. I convinced her to take me home, because I was living in a hotel.
The two shared a meal at Cafe 101 that night, and Lisa bought the drink of the Gods.
‘We sat down, she ordered a Guinness, and that was it,’ he said. ‘I beyond love Guinness. We had Guinness and grits, and the rest is history.’
Momoa was born to Coni, a photographer, and Joseph Momoa, a painter, on August 1, 1979, in Honolulu, Hawaii. The only child of his parents, he was raised in Norwalk, Iowa, by his mother.
He studied marine biology during his college days in Iowa. Later he attended the Colorado State University and changed his major to wildlife biology.
His career initially kicked off as a model before venturing into acting, when he was discovered by the international fashion designer Takeo, who encouraged him to pursue a modelling career. Before long, thanks to being swole and dishy, he was named Hawaii’s Model of the Year.
He walked the catwalk at several prestigious fashion shows before moving to acting roles. One of his first title roles, Conan the Barbarian, opened doors for more film roles, making him a busy actor.
In 1999, he bagged a lead role in Baywatch Hawaii, which he earned after beating a decent 1,000 other actors who had tried getting the role. Following the show’s ending in 2001, Momoa took a break from work to travel the world. It was during this time that he discovered Buddhism on a trip to Tibet. Eventually the world of acting beckoned him back.
His next breakthrough character was starring as Khal Drogo in the insanely popular HBO series Game of Thrones in 2011. He played the character of a barbarian leader of the Dothraki tribe.
During his tenure on the show, he picked up the CinemaCon Award for Male Rising Star, and a nomination each for Scream Award for Best Ensemble and Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series.
Today, Momoa, wife Lisa and their children, are living the life or Riley.
Happy Birthday big guy. Keep doing you.
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