Jason Momoa is usually splashed across our screens as Aquaman, but his latest venture is a little closer to home than the DC Universe. On the Roam, a new eight-part docuseries streaming on Max, sees the Hollywood actor travel across the US on his motorcycle—making stops to meet with homegrown artisans and craftsmen, many of whom are his friends and mentors, along the way. From the restoration of a 1936 Knucklehead bike in both Tennessee and North Carolina to guitar restoration with Guns n’ Roses very own Slash at Gibson guitars’ headquarters, the show is Momoa at his most authentic, describing himself as “a vagabond, a dirtbag, a roamer” seeking out “the artists who are doing things out of their own shops and back yards.”
Condé Nast Traveler caught up with Momoa to discuss some of the pitstops he made, his passion for craftsmanship, and where he dreams of riding his motorcycle next.
Your new show is set in some amazing locations. Did you have any favorites?
I’m very well-traveled. I was born in Hawaii, grew up in Iowa, and I’ve been lucky enough to travel a lot for work. The really cool thing about the show, though, is the people that I filmed with. There is a huge sense of intimacy, for me, in going to Fort Worth and being in [knife-maker] Terry Shank’s home, for example. This is about America opening up its doors and inviting you into their homes. There is real beauty in that. You might travel around and see landmarks and cool places, but this is about people really letting you into their lives. That’s where the real connection comes into play.
How did the idea for the show come about?
I’m really curious and I want to keep learning. When I’m building my characters—whether it’s Aquaman or Baba Voss for See—I come up with my own style and I put a lot into it. [This time] I wanted to show myself with my friends, coming together over something that we built together. My job as an actor is to study life and this [show] is another way of studying life. I felt a real need to go out and make these stories, showing people creating and rebuilding things. [On the Roam] is about restoration and bringing things back to life.
What defines good craftsmanship for you?
It can be as simple as somebody making something in their garage. Each craftsman I’ve worked with for this show has had their own style, and their own ideals of perfectionism. They can make two of something a year and I’m into it. I want to encourage people to seek out [creatives] on their own, to see the human connection through these [processes] that bond and connect us.
Your parents were both artists. How did that creativity influence you?
My family all played music. My grandfather was the leader and he played electric guitar; both my uncles played bass, I played the guitar, my dad did the bongos and ukulele, and they all sang. And then my whole family in Iowa, who mainly raised me, are all masons and hunters, so I’ve been sort of surrounded by craftsmen my whole life. I was raised by a mother who didn’t know how to do things like build bikes, but she had an amazing eye. She sacrificed everything and did a lot of random jobs to put food on the table, for which I’ll always be grateful, but I think I got my eye for things from her. She was a photographer and it’s the way she saw the world that influenced me so much. That’s what is at the heart of this show.
The first episode sees you rebuilding old Harley Davidson bikes and you’re a big bike fan by your own admission. What was your first motorcycle?
I was 19 years old and I was working on Baywatch Hawaii and not making much money. I was living at my father‘s house and I drove his car and saved up to get a Harley Davidson. I still have it and it features in my film, Road to Paloma. I’ve driven it to the Midwest from the West Coast, but I haven’t been across America on it. One of my dreams is to ride from Alaska to Patagonia, but I haven’t had that much time off to be able to do that! I’m also not sure my bike would make it anyway. I’d like to do the Cannonball Race one day, too.
That first On the Roam episode was such fun to make. My favorite color is pink and I wanted a pink 1936 Knucklehead Harley—you’ll see me finally getting on it once it’s been brought back to life by [rider and racer] Buzz Kanter. We also worked with a 1927 Harley, which is so rare. It had less than 800 miles on it and all its original parts. It had vegetable oil in the tank to preserve it, which made it smoke when we first fired it up.
The camaraderie between you and your friends is very evident throughout this show.
You’ll see from the show that a lot of my friends are artists, craftsman and builders. I’m also very keen on music and a lot of my friends are musicians. I don’t personally ever want to be in a band but I’ll jam with them. And I love the blues. I feel like, when you play music, you are somehow suspended in a place where you don’t age; it’s like it stops time.
So, it must have been pretty incredible filming with Slash for an episode at the Tennessee headquarters of Gibson guitars?
Slash is the greatest guitar player in the world, as far as I’m concerned. I pretty much donned his whole look when I was thinking about my character for Aquaman. I talk about him in the series, and in one episode, I get to see the guitars on which he played the songs of my childhood, which was everything. [Later on] I ended up in London watching him on stage alongside my kids, which we didn’t plan, but it worked beautifully and we recorded it. I’m so excited for people to see this show; it’s my everything.
On the Roam, starring Jason Momoa, debuts with two episodes Thursday, January 18 on Max in the US; it’s available to stream on discovery+ in the UK.
