Being raised by a single parent helped me relate to Aquaman: Jason Momoa

DC's latest superhero flick, Aquaman, is a bold, fun adventure with a lot of heart. Jason Momoa, the film's star, tells us why he relates to his half-human, half-Atlantean character.

When director Zack Snyder first told me I'd be cast as Aquaman … I wish I had a picture of my face because I am the last person you should be hiring for Aquaman! I thought I'd be playing a villain.

What is so great about this story is that [Arthur Curry/Aquaman] is this reluctant hero. He's someone who has a great power that isn't harnessed. He's tried to save people. He's lost people. He's loved people. And he isn't really accepted. Atlantis doesn't want him and he can't just go do that on land; he's going to be a freak. So, he's alone. And I think it's the strong women behind him, and his father who's always believed in him, that get him there. He's heard that all the time: it's the people that we're surrounded by that make us kings.

The first time I really felt like Aquaman was during Justice League. I'm sitting on the Batmobile, staring at Batman and Wonder Woman. I'm like: "I'm surfing the Batmobile. This is the coolest thing ever!" And my kids looked at me in that same way. So, it definitely sank in.

I haven't seen Aquaman yet because it's the first time I'll be able to watch something with my kids. And I'm going to be really emotional and affected, and then being able to hold their hands … I'm getting affected right now [laughs]. It's going to be a really cool moment to be a dad with a 10-year-old and an 11-year-old. It's pretty special.

We're actors, so it's not always necessary to have a personal connection [to characters that we play]. I didn't need to go through what Khal Drogo [his character in Game of Thrones] did to become him. But it is cool being able to relate as someone who is truly of two different cultures, when each of those cultures doesn't know of the other one.

The other thing that helped me relate to Aquaman was being raised by a single parent, which I think a lot of kids are now. I just had me and my mother my whole life, so I could relate to Arthur being that close with his father and then running far away and then coming back to his roots. Those things were definitely relatable to me.

Coming from the Polynesian islands [he's half-Hawaiian], there are so many water gods that we have and so much folklore and mythology about how the islands came about - from Kanaloa to Tomaloa and Maui. I just think it's the Poseidon story, and I get to play that ... It's also a huge honour to play it so close to who I am, with all of Arthur's imperfections. I don't have to be Superman - I'm not. But I got to play it as someone who really is split between those two worlds, and I'm excited for the world to see it.

• Aquaman is on circuit