The Special Meaning Behind All of Jason Momoa’s Tattoos
His kids’ signatures over his heart though. 🥺
At this point, we’re used to seeing Jason Momoa casually chilling—shirtless, of course—with a buncha tattoos. Not only was he covered in painted tattoos while playing Khal Drogo in Game of Thrones, but he was also decorated with a ton of ink for the role of Aquaman in, uh, Aquaman. So what’s his tattoo situation when the cameras aren’t rolling? Real-life Jason, as it turns out, has a lot of tats across his whole body—and all of them are super meaningful. In fact, the Aquaman makeup team appears to have been so inspired by the real tattoo Jason has on his arm that they went ahead and used it as the jumping-off point for Aquaman’s full-body designs.
Jason opened up to a fan about the tattoo in question during a Q&A, saying, “It’s our aumakua, my family crest, it’s our guardian.” He went on to explain that “it’s supposed to take the darkness out of your heart and bring the light in, but we’re still working on that.”
Obviously, this backstory makes the fact that Jason’s tattoo was incorporated into his most iconic onscreen character even more special. But it’s just one of a ton of other super-personal tattoos the actor has. We’re diving into the meanings behind Jason’s eight tattoos (eight…that we know about 😏), including his kids’ names, a sweet shout-out to his late best friend, the logos of both of his production companies (why stop at just one, you know?), and a bunch more.
His Kids’ Signatures
Jason has his children’s signatures (Lola and Wolf!) written in red ink on his chest, which I think we can all agree is supremely cute. Like, they’re above his heart. I can’t.
His Aumakua Tattoo
While telling fans about this tattoo, Jason explained that his family’s aumakua (which is part of Hawaiian mythology) is a shark (manō), represented by the triangle pattern on his arm.
His Head Tattoo
Jason debuted his newest tattoo on route to New Zealand, and his team told Just Jared that “It’s a huge piece, it’s related to his Hawaiian roots and culture."
His Semi-Mysterious Line Tattoo
Jason got this one back in June 2014 and gave an Instagram shout-out to his tattoo artist Mahalo Tobias. TBD on what the design itself means though (can someone please ask him? Thx).
His “On the Roam” Tattoo
See that compass-looking tattoo on Jason’s right arm in this glorious photo of him gently holding some flip-flops like a newborn baby? Turns out this is the logo for one of his production companies, which is called—ya guessed it!—On the Roam.
His Late Best Friend’s Name
Sadly, one of Jason’s best friends passed away, so he got this tattoo (which says “Diablo”) in their honor.
His Pride of Gypsies Tattoo
Yep, this is also his Instagram handle. And the name of his other production company. Jason explains the meaning behind “pride of gypsies” on his company’s website, writing, “Pride {prid}-a group of lions forming a collective; gypsy {jip-see}-a nomadic or free-spirited person.”
His Game of Thrones Tattoo
I’m mostly just calling it that because he got it while filming the show. This one says “être toujours ivre,” which loosely means “to always be drunk” in French. Fun fact: Jason’s stepdaughter Zoë Kravitz has a matching tattoo!
His Skull Tattoo
Not sure the meaning behind this one, but Jason just effing loves skulls. At least, based on the many, many skull necklaces and rings he owns. Moving on!
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