 
GW: Do you think he felt betrayed when he found out they were Wraith worshippers?
JM: Oh, absolutely! And I think that's the set-up for it. There's got to be a little bit of loss. Ronon is close to them, but he's not going to stop being friends with the people on Atlantis. I still think he's kind of an outsider. He doesn't really trust anyone besides Sheppard and Teyla, who he really confides in. It doesn't mean he doesn't talk to people or be with them, but to be with his own people, who he was raised with. There's not a doubt in his mind.
| 
"This is what I get paid for, and this is what I would do for free."
|
It was a little bit of a struggle for him, but he wanted the best of both worlds. He wanted to work in cahoots and do special ops with his crew and be his own leader -- which he was. For him to do that was, I think, he had to do that in order for him to fall. To be betrayed, and to have that big fall. He gave his heart wholeheartedly and to leave something that was still very good, where his home is, and also when he left knowing "This is it. This is my home, where I want to be. Now I'm home." That past is over with. So in order for that to work he had to go gung-ho to be with his crew.
GW: Well he's a military man and he's a warrior. It makes sense that he'd be comfortable with other warriors like Teyla and with Sheppard.
JM: Yeah.
GW: What are some favorite stories from Season Four?
JM: There's a pretty funny story ... David Hewlett's not going to like this, but ... We were working at the Norco stage which is where all the Wraith stuff is. It's horrible. I always have to be there. It's horrible. You lose a little bit of your life in there because there are these particles floating around in the air that are just -- something's wrong. You come away coughing and hacking and stuff.
I was a smoker -- I'm not anymore -- but it was brutal. You're not getting proper oxygen, so everyone on set is just lethargic. It was just a hard day and we'd been there probably 13, 14 hours. We're leaving, and I'm riding with Joe [Flanigan]. He's the driver. We see David Hewlett in his little red Echo, driving away. He's just bopping away to the music, and he's feeling down too.
So I'm in the back seat of this huge Diesel truck and I'm like, "Pull up next to him! Pull up next to him!" I whipped my pants all the way down my knees and I hang my ass out the window. David's right there and he looks over and I'm looking back at him. His face was terrified. And we laughed so hard, because he just locked eyes with the brown star. We laughed so hard. It helped so much. Our hearts were just filled with laughter. He was just terrified.
Just good 'ole mooning our friends. Mooning our co-stars.
GW: After 14-hour days, you've got to release somehow!
JM: Absolutely, man. We like picking on Hewlett. I like getting him rattled. It's always fun.
GW: Where do you hope this character will go before the series end? What will be a satisfying conclusion for this role for you?
JM: I really want my character to go to the dark side. We've been talking about it. I've had my dreads for, like, seven years. I just cut 'em off. I've got to put them back on. I'm sure people will see them. It's on the Internet. But I couldn't take it anymore personally. It was just too heavy. Fight scenes are intense. My hair's getting whipped around, and it weighs six and a half pounds. It's just too much.
I saved the dreads. The lady who works on them has to braid 'em up and actually has to sew them on, which is going to be a two-day process. It's going to be painful. It's going to be horrible. I've got to do that. Ronon needs the dreads. I want him to have them. It's just to a point where it hurts my neck. It physically hurts having them.
Momoa says "Sateda" remains a story very dear to his heart. | |
I don't know what we're going to do. What I've always wanted to happen is some epic story, and I hope they write something epic, that I'm captured and tortured by the Wraith, by Michael or someone, and they're trying to find some coordinates to Earth, and basically I'm waiting for Sheppard and those guys to come get me, and he's not allowed to come get me. Some IOA thing says they can't -- I'm an alien. [Sheppard] wants to and he's restricted from it.
GW: You don't think the character could go without the dreadlocks? You really want him to have them?
JM: It's just such a part of my thing, but eesh. I think it keeps him separate from the Earthling thing, and everyone looks the same. It'll be interesting to see what happens. I just want the character to have a full change, him to feel betrayed by Atlantis, not to come and save him, and him to be confused and mind-warped to think he was done wrong again by someone he loves. Have him go AWOL. Have him become a bad guy and working for Wraith or Michael or someone like that or some other bad people.
GW: I imagine, as an actor, it would be fulfilling to have your character be a tragedy in the end.
JM: Yeah, absolutely. I'd rather have him turn to the dark side and have him realize he was wrong and have to find justice and redemption in figuring out where he went wrong. It's just a lot funner that way.
GW: Was [Season Four] an exciting year for you?
JM: On the whole, as working in general, yeah. It was probably the greatest year of my life.
RELATED LINKS:
The Official Jason Momoa Fan Site
|
|
|
