Sundance Scoop: 9 Things I Learned While Breaking Bread with Jason Momoa

Jason Momoa
Jason Momoa

Cross that one off my bucket list! Last night I had dinner with Jason Momoa, the actor who bedded the Khaleesi in some of the hottest love scenes on TV as the Dothraki king Khal Drogo in HBO's "Game of Thrones." The occasion? WWE Studios was hosting a dinner for a dozen or so to celebrate the SAG winner's directorial debut, "Road to Paloma." He also wrote the Native American biker drama, which c0stars Momoa's wife Lisa Bonet and comes out in July.

Here are nine nuggets that emerged over steak and fried chicken at Butcher's in Park City:

1. There's no truth to the rumors that he was cast as Aquaman in the delayed "Batman vs. Superman" movie – but he'd be happy to make it a reality if he were asked.

[Related: Jason Momoa to Play Aquaman in 'Batman vs. Superman?']

2. Although Momoa, 34, was born in Hawaii, his parents split. His mother raised him in Iowa – Madison County to be exact. One of his high school buddies actually had a role in the Meryl Streep-Clint Eastwood movie "The Bridges of Madison County."

3. When you're 6' 5" and very muscular, ordinary chairs are too small for comfort – and he tends to tip back in them to the danger point.

4. Momoa has a number of tattoos – one on his arm said, "Bride of Gypsies," which is the name of his company. Another on his upper arm just above the elbow is rows of black triangles that represent shark's teeth – so that when he's in the water, sharks will recognize him as one of their own.

[Related: Sundance Channel Set Jason Momoa's 'Red Road' Debut for February]

5. His dream project is to write and direct what he calls his "Braveheart." It's a heroic historical drama based on the true story of the Koolau Rebellion, or the Leper Wars on Kaua'i. As Momoa pointed out, Jack London immortalized the relatively little-known conflict in his short story "Koolau the Leper."

6. Momoa has two children, 5 and 6, with wife Lisa Bonet. He kept in touch while in Park City by talking on his phone with them while snowboarding down a mountain.

7. While shooting the first season of "Game of Thrones" in Ireland, Momoa had more than a few awkward moments. When he went to the local pub, he didn't exactly blend in. Who was this giant guy with, as Momoa put it, a "70's porn mustache" and eyeliner? He was just an actor studying his lines – in Dothraki – and calling for another glass of Guinness. By the time he returned to shoot the second season, the locals were buying him beers and calling him "mate."

8. On February 27, the Sundance Channel will premiere "The Red Road," a twisty contemporary noir in which Momoa plays a lead role as a New Jersey Native American with a mysterious past opposite New Zealander Martin Henderson, Julianne Nicholson, Tom Sizemore and Bonet.

9. Momoa, a big man with a big heart, gives good hug – and is the absolute life of the party.