‘Aquaman’ visits Manila
Credit to Author: CHRISTINA ALPAD, TMT| Date: Tue, 11 Dec 2018 16:29:12 +0000
He may be a fictional king of the seas, thus royalty, in the latest Hollywood superhero movie “Aquaman,” but actor Jason Momoa said it was his honor to visit the Philippines in his ongoing four-continent promotional tour for DC Comics’ latest big screen outing.
“As far as I am concerned, [the] Philippines is like the 10th island of Hawaii. There’s like more Filipinos than Hawaiians in Hawaii,” the actor laughed good naturedly on
Tuesday during a media conference at Grand Hyatt Manila in Bonifacio Global City.
The Philippines is the only Southeast Asian stop of Aquaman with Momoa leading the promo for DC’s first live action movie starring the half-human, half Atlantean underwater world hero. The brief visit concluded with a meet and greet fan event at the Mall of Asia Arena on Tuesday night.
“We are kinda like family [Hawaiians and Filipinos], so I feel that it’s an honor to be here,” the 39-year-old said.
In the film, Momoa plays Arthur Curry, the child of a human father named Tom and Queen Atlanna of Atlantis. He had been peacefully living in the human world until his
half-brother, King Orm, threatens to raise war between Atlantis and the human world, forcing him to rouse the other side of his identify.
According to the actor, playing Aquaman hits close to home as he was born to a Native Hawaiian father and an American mother of German and Irish ancestry in real life.
“My upbringing was 100-percent [from] two different worlds, one race and another race and not a lot of culture except for that culture [referring to Iowa where he was raised] so I can really identify with Aquaman,” he said.
“It’s not necessary as an actor to meet [with your character] but it’s really cool to play a superhero that I can relate to and pass down to children who may have come from single or mixed race parents. To be a face of that, it’s a compliment,” Momoa added.
Accompanying him on the tour was leading lady Amber Heard who plays Princess Mera, who helps Aquaman in his mission to stop the war between the two worlds.
“One of the reasons why I’m happy to have the character of Mera is because she’s a warrior and a princess. But the princess is just a title. She’s active and driven, strong and fierce. She’s a superhero in her own right who happens to be a woman. I love that she is all of those things,” Heard said.
She added that the role came at the right time when women are getting better representation in the entertainment industry.
“It’s thrilling and energizing for me to be able to answer that kind of demand and be part of the change that we want. It’s one thing to play a kick-ass character but to be able to do one now at this day and age is incredibly important for me as an actor and a person,” the 32-year-old actress said.
Aquaman opens in theaters nationwide today.
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