At 19 years old, while living and working in Honolulu, Momoa decided to audition for the television series
Baywatch Hawaii, in which he was cast as
Jason Ioane (1999–2001). He was in the main cast on the 2004–2005
Fox drama
North Shore as Frankie. In 2004, Momoa appeared in the road comedy film
Johnson Family Vacation. From 2005 to 2009, Momoa appeared as Ronon in
Stargate Atlantis, for which he learned martial arts. In 2009, he was cast as Roman in four episodes of the
comedy-drama television series
The Game (2009). He portrayed the title protagonist in
Conan the Barbarian (2011), a
reimagining of the 1982 film of the same name and a role made famous by
Arnold Schwarzenegger. Momoa gained fame for his role of
Khal Drogo on HBO's
Game of Thrones. In his audition for the role, he performed a
Haka, one of many intimidating
Māori dances traditionally used to convey a challenge to an opponent, or a welcome to a visitor. Momoa directed and co-wrote
Road to Paloma (2014), an American drama
thriller film, together with writers Jonathan Hirschbein and Robert Homer Mollohan. The film stars Momoa,
Sarah Shahi,
Lisa Bonet,
Michael Raymond-James and
Wes Studi. It premiered at the
2014 Sarasota Film Festival in April 2014. The film had a limited theatrical release on July 15, 2014, in New York City and Los Angeles and a VOD release. In March 2014, Momoa joined the dark comedy/thriller indie
Sugar Mountain alongside
Cary Elwes and
Haley Webb; its principal photography was done in Alaska. He also starred as Phillip Kopus, a
Ramapough Mountain Indian, on the
SundanceTV drama series
The Red Road (2014–2015). In June 2014, Momoa was reported to have been cast in the role of
Arthur Curry / Aquaman, after he auditioned for
Bruce Wayne / Batman. He first played the role in a cameo in the superhero film
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, marking Aquaman's live action film debut. Momoa played the character in a leading role in the 2017
ensemble film Justice League and its director's cut, ''
Zack Snyder's Justice League. He then starred in the Aquaman solo film, which was released in late 2018. He also reprised this role in The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part''. In August 2014, Momoa portrayed Connor in the Canadian horror action film
Wolves, and starred in the Sci-fi horror movie
Debug; it was written and directed by Momoa's former
Stargate Atlantis co-star, British-born Canadian actor
David Hewlett. In February 2015, it was announced that he would portray a
cannibal in the drama thriller film
The Bad Batch. In 2015, Momoa was cast in the Canadian action film
Braven, which was released on February 2, 2018. In March 2017, it was announced that Momoa would play Rico Rodriguez in the official
Just Cause film series. Between 2016 and 2018, Momoa portrayed Declan Harp in all three seasons of the Canadian historical drama television series
Frontier and was an executive producer on the show. The series chronicles the North American fur trade in late 1700s Canada, and follows Declan Harp, a part-Irish, part-Cree outlaw who is campaigning to breach the Hudson's Bay Company's monopoly on the fur trade in Canada, which has become corrupt and engages in illegal activities to enrich itself. In July 2018, Momoa was cast for Apple's
post-apocalyptic drama series
See. In February 2019, Momoa was cast as
Duncan Idaho in the
Denis Villeneuve film
Dune. In February 2020, Momoa appeared in a halftime commercial for
Rocket Mortgage for
Super Bowl LIV. He also appeared in the teaser for "Scary Little Green Men" by
Ozzy Osbourne from his album
Ordinary Man. In January 2022, it was announced that Momoa joined the cast of the tenth
Fast & Furious film titled
Fast X as the main villain, Dante Reyes, the son of
Hernan Reyes (
Joaquim de Almeida), the main antagonist killed by
Luke Hobbs (
Dwayne Johnson) in
Fast Five.
Fast X is produced by and stars
Vin Diesel. In 2023, Momoa made his final outings as Aquaman, beginning with an
uncredited cameo in the post-credits scene of
The Flash, and then reprising his main character role in his solo films sequel
Aquaman and the lost Kingdom. In June 2024, he was cast in the upcoming comedy film
Carnival: At the End of Days. In December 2024, Momoa was announced to play
Lobo in the
DC Universe film
Supergirl, scheduled to be released on June 26, 2026. In May 2025, Momoa was confirmed for the role of
Blanka in the
Street Fighter reboot film. In August 2025, Momoa starred as
Kaʻiana in Apple's historical drama series
Chief of War. Momoa is also the series' co-creator and executive producer. February 11, 2026, it was announced that he is starring in the
Helldivers film adaptation for
Sony Pictures,
PlayStation Productions and with
Justin Lin directing (and in theaters starting November 10, 2027). ==Music==