Jason Momoa Says It's 'Kind of Nice Being Scared' When He Performs Live Onstage: 'It's So Exposed' (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Jason Momoa performs onstage in New York City in September 2024.Photo:Valerie Terranova/Getty

Valerie Terranova/Getty

Jason Momoahas become one with stage fright.

In anexclusive conversationwith PEOPLE tied to his partnership withMonopoly Go!, the actor, 45, opens up about playing with his bandÖOF TATATÁand how he embraces the fears that come with performing live.

“It gives me an opportunity to have two hours to really be scared,” Momoa says. “I’ve never done theater, I’ve never been on stage — so it’s another aspect that I’ve never gotten into.”

“It is kind of nice being scared and to just entertain people that way,” he continues. “It’s been fun to experience that.”

“It could be a crowd of 400, it could be a crowd of 1,000, but they’re right there. It’s so exposed,” adds Momoa. “And it’s not something that if I mess up, it’s just like, ‘Oh.’ You want to be perfect. But I think people are having a good time, so I’m just trying to go out there and spread a little love.”

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Mike Hayes, Jason Momoa and Kenny Dale perform onstage in New York City in September 2024.Valerie Terranova/Getty

Momoa plays bass in ÖOF TATATÁ, which translates to “Oof, Almost” in Māori — which is the Eastern Polynesian language of the Māori people.

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“These are my best friends,” Momoa says of Hayes and Dale. “They’ve been playing for the last 20 years, and they actually taught me how to play guitar and how to play drums.”

“They got kids, and they were just giving up on music, and I was like, ‘Guys, let’s go. Let’s put something together,’ " adds theGame of Thronesalum.

Jason Momoa in December 2023.Shane Anthony Sinclair/Getty

Shane Anthony Sinclair/Getty

Momoa — who has numerous film credits to his name, includingAquaman,Dune: Part One,SlumberlandandFast X— says that performing live on stage is vastly different from working on a movie.

“We are playing characters, and the camera’s watching us,” he tells PEOPLE. “Anytime we’re doing something towards a camera, it’s just different.”

“Being with a live audience, it’s not my background,” Momoa continues. “It’s rejuvenating. You get that energy back from fans, so it’s cool because, when you’re acting, you shoot something, it’s good right then, and you don’t see it for two years.”

“This has that instant gratification of being there with everybody, and so it is a new experience for me,” adds thefather of two.

Tickets for upcoming ÖOF TATATÁ shows can be purchasedhere.

source: people.com