Actor Jason Momoa says his Aquaman role was inspired by Tool and Metallica
"I kind of build my characters off of metal songs"
Jason Momoa, the hulking star of the new superhero film Aquaman, says he built his role of the title character out of songs by Tool and Metallica.
The actor is a longtime metalhead who revealed to Metal Hammer that he often turns to heavy music for inspiration while preparing for a role.
Momoa, who has also starred in Game of Thrones and the 2011 film Conan The Barbarian, told the magazine, “Aquaman’s pretty metal. I know no one thinks that, but Aquaman’s metal. I kind of build my characters off of metal songs. Conan was really heavy Pantera, I’d say Aquaman was probably mostly built out of Tool and [Metallica’s debut album] Kill ‘Em All — [Tool’s song] ‘Ticks and Leeches’, if I want to get specific. There’s a lot of [Black] Sabbath in there, too.”
Writer’s note: I saw Momoa at Metallica’s show at the Palladium in Los Angeles in February 2017 and he was in the pit headbanging along with all the other fans, so he’s the real deal.
Momoa served as host of Saturday Night Live this past weekend. Read Consequence of Sound‘s rundown of the episode here. Aquaman hits theaters on December 21st. Check out both the trailer and Tool’s “Ticks and Leeches” below.
