If you’re a an actor who has been working for any length of time, there are likely to be certain jobs that you took in the past that you’re not exactly proud of. And while accepting a role may have seemed like a good idea at the time, you don’t have that much control over the final result. This was the case for Aquaman star Jason Momoa, who recently called his first opportunity at a leading role in a movie “a pile of shit.”
Momoa was referring to the 2011 remake of the Arnold Schwarzenegger 80s classic Conan the Barbarian; “I’ve been a part of a lot of things that really sucked, and movies where it’s out of your hands,” he explained. “Conan [the Barbarian] was one of them. It’s one of the best experiences I had and it [was] taken over and turned into a big pile of shit.”
Now, the director of the remake, Marcus Nispel, has responded to Momoa’s comment in a statement to People Magazine; “As a filmmaker in this system you are a dog on many leashes. Trying to get Conan done under those circumstances was the worst experience that I had, and I was as unhappy [as Momoa] with the result.”
Nispel continued; “I am happy though that none of this got in the way of Jason’s career path…I always stood by the decision to make Conan with him. My friend John Milius once said: ‘There is always a sense of defeat in every victory.’ In regards to having had the pleasure and privilege of having given Jason his first leading part, I say: ‘There can also be a sense of victory in a defeat,'” adds Nispel.
The director concluded the statement on a light-hearted note with a joke about the action star’s famous physique: “By the way – the muscles that Jason flexed for Game of Thrones. I paid for those.” Momoa played Khal Drogo, husband of Emilia Clarke’s Daenerys Targaryen in Game of Thrones in 2011-2012 – which would go on to have more of a positive impact on his career than Conan.
Nispel has responded to Momoa’s comments very kindly, and with generosity of spirit regarding Momoa and his career. Turns out not everything has to be a Hollywood beef.
As well as appearing in the DCEU, Momoa also had a role in Dune as the fabulously-named Duncan Idaho. Unfortunately he won’t be back for the sequel, but find out what we know about Dune 2 so far.