Captain Newfoundland wouldn’t bat an eye hearing how Jason Momoa, the King of the Seven Seas, has fallen in love with this island in the Atlantic
Aquaman and the Captain himself both hail from the same home; Atlantis. That the two hold a torch – or a trident in this case – for this place really isn’t surprising.
Aquaman star Jason Momoa spent a nice bit of time hanging around the province this past winter. From axe-throwing downtown to mysterious mountain ice caves, Momoa explored.
LOVE OF THIS PLACE
Speaking with NTV’s Amanda Mews, Momoa almost gushed over his love of this place – if a man as cool as Aquaman ever actually gushed.
“When I left last season, I saw pictures of Gros Morne and the Torngat Mountains and I was just blown away (with) the beauty we have here in Newfoundland,” Momoa said, adding he quickly grabbed some friends and went exploring. Momoa said he found the area a ‘surreal‘ and also ‘very welcoming’.
When he posts pictures he takes while here he gets texts from friends asking; where the hell are you? he laughed. “Ice caves … ‘I love it here,” he said. But it’s not just the rugged beauty he enjoys, it’s also the finer things in life he appreciates too. While Scouting for Aquaman, he took those interested around, acting as NL tour guide and island ambassador.
“I showed them around and took them to Raymonds and Merchant and Basho … take them to the good cuisine here … they fell in love with it here,” he shared.”
Some of Momoa’s time here was spent in Marine Park in Pouch Cove shooting scenes for both the movie Braven and the Discovery series Frontier.
On the day The Herald visited the park, the beach area of the campground was hopping as experts in their field did everything from prepare meals to apply make-up, getting ready to shoot an exciting episode of Frontier. Fire and explosions were planned, and Pouch Cove’s volunteer fire department members hung out waiting for the action; and for one of the show’s stars – Momoa himself – to show up on set.
ONE OF THE BOYS
When he appears – always larger than life – he never disappoints. But seeing Aquaman around is almost old news here. 
From filming two incredible Carhartt commercials to creating scenes from both Braven and Frontier, Momoa has pretty much become just one of the b’ys.
“He’s a regular guy. Now, if he’s in character and working, he takes that seriously, but otherwise, he takes all the time in the world if he can,” says campground owner Dave Snow when asked about having the big guy around so much.
Snow and co. helped build the scenes for two Carhartt commercials; one with a skyline of New York and another that featured a WWI battle scene. While it’s been fun, it’s also revenue.
From renting trailers to providing snacks, it all adds up, says Snow.
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“It’s interesting. To be involved, to see celebrities, it’s not every day that you get to see these people or these activities happening in the woods somewhere in Newfoundland. But it’s amazing,”
Snow and I tour the set of Frontier, peeking inside shells of structures that will be set on fire that very evening.
“People are making costumes, designing deer skin pants. Someone made these barrels. All these things look random, but nothing is random. This came out of somebody’s head and was an artists concept and now it’s here at Marine Park,” Snow says as our tour continues.
For Braven, many of the outdoor scenes were filmed right where we stand. The scenery is breathtaking, but there’s something else too that’s attractive.
“Jason loves it here. He says it all the time; we are unique. He’s been a great ambassador for this place,” he adds.
You can’t put a price tag on the attention the star of a series like Game of Thrones brings to this island.
“(Momoa) was in taking a tour and I was showing him all the spots they could be interested in filming and he took a picture overlooking the ocean.”
PRICELESS PROMOTION
Momoa has 5 million followers. Within an hour the picture had 227,000 ‘likes.’ “Anyone who follows him who is in the business may say; I’m looking for that kind of place for my movie. Or someone may just want to come visit. That’s priceless.”
In addition to posting park images, Momoa also scouted locations in some snowy locales near Corner Brook, posting stunning Newfoundland scenery images on Instagram.
Snow smiles. Momoa is kind, friendly and generous, he adds. He also has really and truly fallen in love with this place.
“He really seems to enjoy filming here and it’s cool to have a friend who’s famous and it doesn’t hurt our business being associated with him,” Snow laughs.
Kyle Snow, Snow’s 27-year-old son, has embraced the family’s campground business, but he’s also enjoying the movie side of things too these days. With around five acting roles and five to six stunt roles under his belt, Kyle says his goal is to focus on exploring his sense of adventure.
“I developed a passion for adventure while growing up in and around the park and it is that drive and that passion that thrills me. I can say that I’m a diver, rock climber, ex-military, and now a stunt actor and it all came from growing up with the outdoors as my playground.”
Kyle has been a stunt actor for some pretty exciting roles, joking he’s been killed many times. “I’ve been thrown off stairs, jumped plain-clothed into the Atlantic in January, been blown up and had a gruesome death by ax scene as well.”
It’s all in a day’s work. Being an occasional stunt double for the man himself doesn’t hurt his credentials either.
Yeah, there’s few cooler to be associated with than Aquaman, be it him in Justice League or in the much anticipated upcoming standalone movie.
Snow chuckles. He understands Aquaman’s attraction to this place.
“I started in this business because I’m passionate about sharing the beauty of the outdoors with other families. It’s about coming together in a unique and very special way in the great outdoors. Newfoundlanders get that. That will always be what’s most important to me. This is one beautiful place.”