Jason Momoa Identifies as a “Dirtbag” — Though He’s Got a More Nuanced Definition

His days playing may very well be over, but isn’t exactly desperate to add more to his dance card. The affable, 6 foot 4 leading man co created upcoming Apple drama , which he’ll also topline, is set to star in the feature adaptation, counts himself part of the franchise and, come Jan. 18, launches his own docuseries.

, an eight part travelog, follows the actor over a three year period during which he interviews artists, builders, guitar makers and other craftspeople — Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash even makes an appearance — and at least once drives a motorcycle up a dusty hill at an incline that would make any studio exec who handles insurance reach for a paper bag.

The product is a sensitive portrayal of men who appear very much in touch with their feelings despite their ostensibly macho lines of work. It was on the occasion of his new show that Momoa participated in a virtual junket earlier this week. The fruit of this wasn’t a particularly long interview — and publicists advised not to mention or — but it certainly wasn’t a boring one.

Oh, fucking Goddamn. Thank God, bro. [ .] I was just like, “If I keep that shirt on, my pants on, for one more second, this was just going to be a fucking problem…” [ . I grew up rock climbing. That’s what got me out of Iowa, my first passion. It took me to Colorado and then around the world and to Tibet, France, Italy.

I’ve traveled the world, climbing, and that’s what a dirtbag is. It’s a climber. I used to live out of my car, carry my world and my rucksack. So, from the climber’s point of view, a dirtbag is just someone who’s really in nature, who’s constantly on the road. That’s what the show’s about.

A dirtbag doesn’t mean a dirt ball or a shit bag or a fucking filthy person. It just means that I am living in the dirt. Life made simple. We’re out in our trucks, we sleep on the cots. Everything that we have made is within our caravan. At the root of me, that’s how I survived in this industry: being in the dirt and going and playing on the rocks.

I may not live that life so much anymore, but that’s what keeps me rooted and grounded and humble and searching and hungry. It’s a Goddamn good thing you weren’t producing it. No, there was no concern. All those men are the most heartfelt, beautiful men. Maybe our faces don’t look like that.

My kids are always like, “You have that resting bitch face.” I’m like, “No, that’s just my stare and my forehead. I’m happy!” If you meet those guys, you’re going to laugh and be accepted right in. I guess you could look at it as bucket list. But I really still travel and do these things anyways.

I love learning from handcrafted artisans. Both of my parents are artists. As far as the Slash moment, I’m just thinking, “Well, here’s someone who inspired me my whole life. What can I do to honor them?” Unfortunately, I haven’t seen anyone’s travelogs. So I guess at least I couldn’t be swayed to do something.

I can only be who I am. I think this thing is the most revealing thing I’ve ever done. It’s my life. Shit, I should have edited it out. It’s all fucking real, man. If people don’t enjoy it, that’s OK. They’re either going to love it or it’ll annoy them and they’re going to turn it off.

It was originally at Discovery, when Discovery was just Discovery and not Warner Bros and there was no Max. Discovery does a lot of beautiful things with motorcycles, so I started thinking about it that way. I pitched that plus all the other things that I love and want to do. I also had a YouTube channel where I did a lot of on the roam stuff.

I can’t tell you why they said yes — but, fuck, dude, I’m happy they did. The first thing we shot was interviewing Slash. That was 2020. Then you toss COVID in there and the ripple effect of that whole fucking thing. … I couldn’t [shoot this] because we were so backed up. I was stuck in Canada shooting .

Then I went to go do , something like that. So if I flew back into the country, I’d have to dash off some place for a weekend just to get these little pieces. It took a long time, just because I have a film career that’s going this way. I’ve been directing for years. I did my first project [short ] about 12 years ago.

That’s probably what inspired all this. I did my own movie [2014’s ] and then we started doing mostly commercials. I think by doing the car commercial and working with everyday people doing hard, physical jobs. I’m a student of life. If I get a job and I don’t know anything about a certain craft, I’m going to have some professional that’s going to come in and teach me very quickly, so I don’t look like an idiot playing this role.

You get these crash courses, these tastes of different beautiful things. Oh, I didn’t know that. That’s fucking great. , get that out. But I didn’t know. I’m out here doing other shit. That job’s been done for I don’t know how long. I’m going to go shoot some secret stuff right now. … It’s good stuff.

Then, I’m going to go direct my first Guinness commercial. Finally! It’s been a long time coming. And then I’m going to go down to do with Jack Black. Thank you very much. THR Newsletters Sign up for THR news straight to your inbox every day More from The Hollywood Reporter.