Jason Momoa Reveals He Would Give up Acting for One Very Different Career Path: 'I See Things in Imagery'

Jason Momoa is having a big year. In July, he'll realize his dream of playing Lobo in Supergirl. In October, he'll star as Blanka in Street Fighter. To cap things off before the new year, he'll return as swordsman Duncan Idaho in Dune: Part Threeon December 16. But in between all of that, Momoa has been indulging in his passions with the second season of his reality show, On the Roam. Following Season 1, which aired in 2024, On the Roam Season 2 finds Momoa collaborating with producer Brian Andrew Mendoza to highlight various types of art and creators.

"Sometimes things take two years to make to get to the end product," Momoa tells Men's Journal, talking about the various subjects in the documentary show. "It's probably made worse that I have a day job, but the beautiful thing is that it all does happen over an extended period of time."

The first two episodes of On the Roam Season 2 follow Momoa as he helps the rock band The Bobby Lees before reconnecting with his art-world hero, Julian Schnabel. It's during that second episode-a deep dive into the history of 20th-century contemporary art-that Momoa reveals something surprising: If he could walk away from life as one of the world's biggest actors, he'd choose an entirely different creative path.

"I would leave this [acting] life now if I could paint," Momoa reveals. "Both my parents are painters. I grew up with my mom in photography, and her being a painter, and my dad, a full-on painter. I see things in terms of imagery. And I write that way, too; the visual medium is very important to me. I'll remove lines [of dialogue] to have more of the visual f*cking medium. I would love to disappear into that and hopefully just paint and do the art that I love to do."

Momoa knows more about art history than most would expect. He's a huge fan of Jean-Michel Basquiat, which is why he loves Schnabel, who directed the 1996 film Basquiat, starring Jeffrey Wright in the title role.

That said, if Momoa ever does retire and focus on his visual art, there's a chance he might not reveal it all to the public. At least not right away.

"I keep my photography to myself," Momoa says thoughtfully. "I'm in a world where I give everything out. There's not much that I don't share. So with that, I like to just share that with my kids. It's just ours. When I'm dead, that can go out. But I really love having one f*cking thing that I get to keep."

On the Roam Season 2 hits HBO Max on May 14, 2026.

This story was originally published by Men's Journal on May 11, 2026, where it first appeared in the Entertainment section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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This story was originally published May 11, 2026 at 3:03 PM.