AlloCiné met Jason Momoa, who said goodbye after three seasons to his character Baba in the Apple TV+ series “See”. The best role of his career according to him…
AlloCiné: How is this new season of See different from the others?
Jason Momoa: This season is even more explosive than the previous ones. It is a succession of bombs and explosions. It is truly relentless war and chaos that reigns. Baba Voss, my character, tries to the end to protect his family. He faces new challenges.
His wife is with someone else now. But he knows how to endure and he will face all the obstacles on his way. It’s a look at what a father does for his family: how far will he go to protect his family?
How does this series differ from other sci-fi and action works you’ve been a part of?
It’s such a different show than anything I’ve done before. Cinematographically and visually it is another experience. Playing someone who can’t see, who has to trust their hearing and their instincts, is unique.
It’s a constant challenge on set, probably the most important of my career. The most emotional role of my acting life! I hope the audience will like this final season.
Can you explain in more detail the challenges of playing a warrior who cannot see?
When I fight, I can’t look at my opponent, since I’m blind. It is therefore complicated and dangerous to confront each other like this, to flutter my weapon in someone’s face without the blows being really carried out while maintaining the perfect illusion of the impact.
The ultimate challenge is, like an animal, to trust all your other senses: hearing, smell, touch… Fighting like this feels so much more real than just shooting a gun. I think it forces you to be a better actor, a better fighter.
Do you think that a series showing blind warriors doing incredible things can change the perception of blind people?
I had the intuition that this incredible show with such well-meaning people, like the showrunner Jonathan Topper, could only have a positive impact on the perception that we can have of blind people.
You can’t imagine all the preparation work we all went through to be as realistic as possible and honoring people who are truly blind. All of us, including Apple who is funding the series, have put our hearts and best efforts into showcasing the visually impaired.
I want to find other roles as rich as Baba’s.
Physically, how do you prepare for a series like this?
We shot seasons 2 and 3 in a row. It was extremely trying and I was injured during filming, my shoulder was dislocated. I also had a hernia. I was “broken”! The filming of the last season was therefore the most trying and I was at the weakest physically.
Also, as we stayed in Toronto for a long time due to covid, I was unable to return home to the US. There is a parallel between what happened in my life and the journey of my character. It was painful and I tried to experience it all as Baba saw it on the screen. It was not easy to survive this ordeal with such emotionally and physically demanding filming. But I managed to find my form and then be able to continue with the filming of Aquaman.
When you watch the last season of See, you get the feeling that I’m on top of my game when in fact I was in pain and limited. I gave everything I could and I believe that the result is up to what can be expected from such a series.
Has this series “transformed” you in some way?
It made me want to do more great series even more. I want to find other roles as rich as Baba’s, but it’s going to be hard to do better. I’m so proud of what we’ve done with See. It was devastating to re-record my voice and my emotions in post-production for the final sequence of this season, which we shot over five ultra-intense days.
It was so hard to emotionally put myself back in Baba’s shoes, to relive that battle and then to say goodbye to my character again. At the end of this recording, I felt totally drained but, once again, what a fabulous experience to have been able to experience what I experienced!
Looks like if this continues, the future of humanity may look like See’s. What do you think and what is your vision of our future?
I’m just an actor. I’m not sure people care what I think of the future of humanity. In any case, we live in a scary time, with this pandemic. This can only make us aware of our fragility. We are so lucky to be here.
When we see all these images that come to us from the universe via telescopes we can only be amazed. Coming from Stargate Atlantis and See, I can only wonder what will happen in the future. It can be scary, that’s for sure.
In the end, what does this series represent for you?
It’s the first time I’ve been able to experience a character from start to finish that has a complete journey. Especially compared to other roles whose emotional arc was left hanging or whose ending wasn’t necessarily satisfying. As with Khal Drogo [Game of Thrones]Ronon Dex [Stargate Atlantis] or even Declan Harp [Frontier].
Although I’m proud to have been a part of amazing franchises, like Dune, this role touched me deep inside. It also allowed me to learn a lot as an actor but also as a man. I feel like I’ve matured with this series. It was an amazing experience playing someone blind, it makes you feel so much more humble and respectful.