Since Jason Momoa and Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson are both of Samoan descent and have a similar career, many people have been wondering whether or not the two men are related.
Despite having a similar ethnicity, Jason Momoa and The Rock are not related. Though Jason Momoa and The Rock are both partly Samoan and both have ties to Hawaii, they still have quite different backgrounds.
Continue reading to find out what Jason Momoa and The Rock do have in common.
Momoa and Johnson’s Upbringing
Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson was born in 1972 in Hayward, California. His father, Rocky Johnson, is half African and half Samoan, but was born in Nova Scotia, Canada and his mother, Ata Johnson, was Samoan.
He briefly moved to New Zealand to live with his mother’s family and attend primary school. But, he moved back to the United States and finished primary school in Charlotte, North Carolina.
He then moved briefly to Hawaii for high school in Honolulu, but also went on to attend high school in Nashville, Tennessee and Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
Jason Momoa on the other hand, was born in Nānākuli, Honolulu, Hawaii in 1979, but moved to Norwalk, Iowa with his mother when he was six months old. After high school, he moved back to Hawaii and enrolled at the University of Hawaii. So, both men had some schooling in Hawaii and both were brought up in America.
Mamoa’s father, Joseph Momoa is of Samoan and Hawaiian ancestry. His mother, Coni Lemke, is of German, Irish and Native American descent. Overall Momoa identifies as Hawaiian and The Rock identifies as Samoan.
Samoans are often confused as Hawaiian because both islands are on the Pacific Ocean. Samoa, however, is part of the continent Oceania while Hawaii is part of the United States. So, The Rock and Jason Momoa only share a bit of Samoan ancestry from Momoa’s dad and both of The Rock’s parents respectively.
The Rock and Jason Momoa’s Careers
Both men are currently actors, but before they got into acting, they had very different careers.
The Rock was a professional wrestler, which is where he got his nickname. He started his wrestling career in 1996 when he was signed by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF).
He eventually retired in 2004 when his contract with the World Wrestling Entertainment Inc (WWE) ended. He has since returned to the ring a few times to wrestle again, notably when he came back and lost to John Cena.
The Rock instead started to focus on his acting career. He used his popularity in wrestling to jumpstart his acting career and has since become one of the highest paid actors in Hollywood.
Jason Momoa on the other hand, started his career by modelling. When he was 19 years old, he was discovered in Hawaii by designers named Eric Chandler and Takeo Kobayashi who encouraged Momoa’s modelling career.
The following year, Momoa won Hawaii’s Model of the Year Award and he hosted a beauty pageant, Miss Teen Hawaii. In the same year, he started his acting career by getting a role in Baywatch Hawaii.
Ironically, The Rock also starred in Baywatch, but in the film made in 2016. This was based on the show that Momoa had a role in for two years, seven years prior.
The Rock is also well-known for his starring role in the Fast & Furious series. For the Hobbs & Shaw film, The Rock actually wanted Jason Momoa to play his brother. He said: “Me and Momoa tried hard to get him in this movie to play my brother, but his schedule was too packed. Next Hobbs movie for sure.”
So, Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson and Jason Momoa may not be related, but they hold many similarities and even recognize that they look like they could be related.