Jason Momoa is a hunk. Everyone knows that, and there’s no denying it either. His ripped physique, which has been on display more than once and in more than just the Aquaman film series, only proves just how athletic and in shape he is.
But he wasn’t quite that bulky and muscular during the late 2000s, which is why he was forced to work and literally train to death to add 10 lbs of pure muscle to his body by the directors of a 2011 movie he refers to as “a big pile of sh-t”.
In case you still haven’t guessed it yet, the film in talk here is none other than the critically panned adventure fantasy remake, Conan the Barbarian, in which Jason Momoa looks nothing short of unrecognizable when comparing the 2011 version to how he looks now.
As for the people who worked him to death, they were none other than the directors who later on went on to helm masterpieces like the John Wick saga and Deadpool 2, i.e. Chad Stahelski and David Leitch.
Jason Momoa Had to Brutally Train for Conan the Barbarian (2011)
2011’s remake of Conan the Barbarian may have faced the wrath of both the general audiences as well as the most terrifying of critics for reasons more than one, but Jason Momoa still looked as breathtakingly amazing as ever.
And a major credit for this immaculate transformation goes to Chad Stahelski and David Leitch.
As soon as he got cast for the role of Conan in 2010, the Aquaman star had to gain 10 pounds of pure muscle to his already 215-pound frame.
Although still in the midst of finalizing negotiations for the movie, he was reportedly enlisted into a six-week brutally intense training program at a stunt and martial arts academy in Los Angeles, as per The Des Moines Register (via LiveJournal).
For guidance, one of the people helping Momoa achieve this goal was none other than David Leitch, who had previously acted as The Bourne Ultimatum‘s stunt performer and later went on to direct the masterpiece that was Deadpool 2.
Another helping hand was the John Wick franchise’s helmer Chad Stahelski, who acted as the martial arts stunt coordinator for the second and third installments of the Matrix saga (i.e. The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions) before.
Yet, even with Jason Momoa’s ripped body through the help of Leitch and Stahelski, the film couldn’t be remembered as more than just another remake of the 1982 original Arnold Schwarzenegger-starrer Conan the Barbarian because of its inferior quality and utter dearth of soul.
Jason Momoa Calls Conan the Barbarian “A Big Pile of Sh-t”
Although Jason Momoa was in one of his best and most muscular shapes to date while working on Conan the Barbarian, that movie has still seemingly made its way into the Justice League star’s “Things that really sucked” list.
During an interview with GQ, the Aquaman 2 star echoed similar thoughts as he said:
“I’ve been a part of a lot of things that really sucked, and movies where it’s out of your hands,” he said. “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 sh-t.”
The Momoa-starrer Conan the Barbarian remake was a massive flop, garnering only $63.5 million on its budget of a whopping 90 million dollars (as per Box Office Mojo). Nonetheless, it hardly put a dent in Jason Momoa’s career, which is thriving and flourishing as spectacularly as ever.
You can stream Conan the Barbarian (2011) on Amazon Prime Video.
