Jason Momoa has recalled the terrifying near-death experience he had after he almost drowned off the coast of Maui.
The Aquaman star was caught up in a surfing incident in October 2007 near Peʻahi, otherwise known as "Jaws" because of how big and powerful the waves there can be.
Jason was with surfing legends Laird Hamilton and Dave Kalama before he found himself in trouble a mile offshore when the leash for his surfboard snapped.
Near-death experience
"We did like a 14, 13-mile paddle, I was with Dave Kalama, my friend Joe Flanigan, and Laird Hamilton," he said on the Smartless podcast. "And you're kind of almost a mile offshore. And then my leash snapped. We're about seven miles into it, and my leash snapped."
Coming from a family of surfers, Jason said that he "was trained pretty well", but "took quite a few [waves] on the head."
"They were pretty big, like 10-foot Hawaiian waves, but I'm literally probably a mile offshore. I was stuck in this crazy spot, which is probably the outer reef, and unknown to me. And they couldn't see me," he added, referring to his friends.
Jason said that the struggle to stay afloat made him think of his daughter, Lola, now 18, whom he shares with his ex, Lisa Bonet. The former couple are also parents to Nakoa-Wolf Momoa, 16.
He continued: "I looked in, and I was just like – my daughter at that time was three months old – and I just lost it. My body stopped like I couldn't move my arms anymore. And I bubbled down, and then my toe hit the outer reef.
"Like I literally gave up, and I'm screaming inside, and my foot just hits the outer reef, and I don't know if it was a [expletive] whale or like just could be one rock, but I just reached down, grabbed it, I jump up, I get hit by another wave."
Jason admitted that at that point, he had "already given up". "I dig my feet into the coral, and I'm literally in the middle of the ocean. I could barely put my lips above the water just to breathe and get a break, but I had already given up.
"So it’s like, you’ve already given up and died and have a second chance at it. I was hanging on the side of this reef."
Jason was eventually rescued by Laird, who brought him his surfboard, but the two had a "brutal" paddle back to shore.
The incident had a radical effect on Jason, who said that he immediately stopped smoking after his near-death experience.
"We get in," he explained, 'and I used to smoke like two, three packs a day. I couldn't stop for my kids, couldn't stop for my ex – I couldn't stop smoking. And the moment I came out, I never smoked again. Like I just died. I tried and tried, but I couldn't do it again because I just, I gave up. Like, I gave up my life."