Jason Momoa can’t turn on his Zoom camera. This superstar actor is no stranger to technology. He’s just been on the set of A Minecraft Movie Squared, the long-awaited sequel to the 2025 family blockbuster. And as he says, he seems “absolutely ridiculous.”
“Trust me, I look pretty stupid,” Momoa said with a laugh while logging on to a video call. He can’t say much about reprising his role, but teases, “We’re definitely playing pretty hard here.”
Play has been a major part of Momoa’s daily life since he was a child. It’s all thanks to my mother Koni.
“I was raised by a single mother who was an artist and always encouraged me to play,” Momoa says. “She’s the one who taught me how to climb and enjoy the outdoors. She really supported art and creativity. I didn’t have any siblings or anyone to play with, so I would build Legos with her.”
Once Momoa had children of his own, Lola Iolani and Nakoa Wolf Momoa, he made sure to pass on the lesson about the importance of family playtime. And Lego was right at the center of it all.
“They were always a great gift,” Momoa says of the colorful brick set. “It was really essential for my kids and for us to be able to sit together and build these different worlds.” One of their most memorable family structures was the iconic “Star Wars” spaceship, the Millennium Falcon. “We even got the Death Star,” Momoa added happily. “This was a big deal for Wolfie and I. It was like the longest production ever, but ‘Star Wars’ was a huge deal for us.”
These precious family memories were a big reason why Momoa was “honored” to partner with LEGO on the “Never Stop Playing” campaign. The PSA comes ahead of World Play Day on June 11th. This is the day the LEGO Group annually observes the United Nations’ International Day of Play, dedicated to celebrating and protecting children’s right to play.
“It was a great opportunity for my kids to have something that really connects them to their childhood and memories as they get older. They were really excited that I was doing this,” Momoa says. “It’s also very important to me. My life is all about playing. Keeping my creativity alive is very important. That’s my MO and I had the most amazing time filming this.”
The quirky PSA features Momoa as LEGO’s newest playmaker. His mission is to help families rediscover the power of play, as 61% of parents surveyed by The LEGO Group admitted their children play less than when they were younger. The solution is a simple “block click” where you click two Lego blocks together.
The new study, which surveyed 30,000 parents and 15,000 children aged 5 to 12 around the world, found that five hours of weekly playtime boosts family happiness and well-being, but 44% of families surveyed did not reach that threshold. In fact, data shows that more than 60 million families don’t play together at all, and families surveyed cited barriers such as work, screen time, household chores, cost, and lack of safe space as obstacles to fun.
Momoa has a long professional history with Lego, voicing Aquaman in 2019’s The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part and has a minifigure to match. Aquaman was Momoa’s first Lego lookalike, and he couldn’t wait to show it to his awe-struck children.
“They love to play with it, and they can play with me like Black Manta. It’s a journey,” he said, adding that it’s not just kids that the toy brings joy to. “It’s great to be part of the Lego brand, to go to the hospital and sign autographs.”
Since then, Momoa’s “Dune” warrior Duncan Idaho and his “Minecraft” gamer Garrett “The Garbage Man” Garrison have also been commemorated with bricks. What is it like having so many toys that look like him to play with?
“That’s pretty amazing!” exclaims Momoa. “When you grow up playing with this your whole life, you can create a little bit of a character about what you’ve done, and that’s flattering and cool.” He added, “They made me special as a playmaker.”
Momoa’s latest DC role, comic book antihero Lobo, also has a Lego minifigure, but its design isn’t based on the actor’s “Supergirl” look — at least not yet. (What you do, Lego.) Regardless, Momoa is still thrilled that his lifelong dream of playing the character in a movie starring Millie Alcock, which opens later this month, will become a reality. “This is definitely a dream come true,” he says, recalling 40 years ago when he first saw the character in the comics. “I hope this work resonates with people and that they like it.”
Momoa will next be seen in Denis Villeneuve’s third installment of Dune, and Wolfie has also been booked to appear in the film, bringing this conversation full circle. “He was always with me on set,” Momoa said, declining to go into details about when she saw her son in action. “The good thing is, when my kids were little, I always took them everywhere. It was easy to take them everywhere and they always had playtime.”
One of Momoa’s most hilarious roles to date is as the hilariously deranged villain Dante in the Fast and Furious movies. The actor says he is “waiting to hear” when he will be reprising his role in the long-awaited final installment of the series, Fast Forever, but is keen to get back in the game. Momoa says of the character, “It’s the ultimate play that allows you to unleash that much creativity.” “I don’t get many opportunities to do things like this, so it was fun.”
Jason Momoa stars in Lego’s “Never Stop Playing” campaign.
