Before he was the King of Atlantis in the DC universe or the terrifying warlord Khal Drogo, Jason Momoa was a different kind of survivor. He was a Runner. Honestly, if you look back at the mid-2000s sci-fi landscape, Jason Momoa in Stargate Atlantis was the spark that changed the show's entire energy. Most people today see the muscles and the movie star grin and assume he just popped out of the ether, fully formed, onto the Game of Thrones set.
That's just not how it happened.
Momoa spent four years playing Ronon Dex, a Satedan soldier whose entire civilization was turned into a graveyard by the Wraith. He wasn't just some supporting actor in the background; he was the muscle, the heart, and occasionally the most terrifying person in the Pegasus Galaxy. If you missed that era, you missed the literal "boot camp" that turned a former Baywatch "pretty boy" into a legitimate action powerhouse.
The Haka and the Audition That Changed Everything
When the producers of Stargate Atlantis needed to replace the character of Aiden Ford (played by Rainbow Sun Francks) in Season 2, they weren't looking for another clean-cut military type. They wanted someone raw. Someone who felt like they'd been living in the woods for a decade, hunting aliens with nothing but a knife and a grudge.
Enter a young Jason Momoa.
He didn't just walk in and read lines. During his audition, Momoa performed a Haka, the traditional Māori war dance. It’s a move that has now become a bit of a Momoa trademark—he did it on the red carpet for Aquaman and during his Saturday Night Live monologue—but back then, it was a revelation. It showed a level of intensity that the Stargate franchise hadn't really tapped into before.
He got the part.
Basically, the writers created Ronon Dex to be a "Chewbacca" figure—a fierce, loyal alien warrior who didn't need a lot of dialogue to be effective. But Momoa brought a specific brand of "silent but deadly" charisma that eventually made Ronon a fan favorite.
Why Ronon Dex Was the Blueprint for Khal Drogo
There is a straight line connecting Ronon Dex to the characters Jason Momoa plays today. If you watch his first appearance in the episode "Runner," you see the early version of the "Momoa Character." He's stoic, he's incredibly physical, and he has that specific way of looking at people like he’s deciding whether to hug them or throw them through a wall.
- The Fighting Style: Momoa had to learn various martial arts for the role. Unlike the Stargate SG-1 team, who relied heavily on P90s and tactical gear, Ronon used a specialized energy pistol and a sword made from the metal of a Wraith ship.
- The Backstory: Ronon was a survivor of a planetary genocide. He spent seven years being hunted for sport by the Wraith. That kind of trauma isn't easy to act, but Momoa leaned into the character's isolation.
- The "Grunt" Factor: Momoa has joked in interviews about how he spent years on the show just grunting and looking mean. But that limitation forced him to get good at physical storytelling—something that became essential when he played a character who literally didn't speak English in Game of Thrones.
The Great Dreadlock Drama of Season 5
You can't talk about Jason Momoa in Stargate Atlantis without talking about the hair. Those massive, floor-length dreadlocks weren't just a style choice; they were the character’s silhouette.
By the time Season 5 rolled around, however, the hair had become a literal pain in the neck. Those things weighed about five or six pounds. After years of filming high-intensity fight scenes, Momoa was suffering from chronic neck pain and headaches. He finally asked the producers if he could cut them off.
The story of the hair is actually kind of hilarious in a "behind-the-scenes" disaster sort of way:
- Momoa cut the dreadlocks off between seasons.
- The Sci-Fi Channel (now Syfy) freaked out because they thought the dreads were his "brand."
- The production team spent $10,000 to have a wig made out of his actual hair that he’d saved.
- In the episode "Broken Ties," they originally planned to have Ronon's hair cut off by his captors, but the network nixed it.
If you watch Season 5 closely, you can actually tell when he's wearing the "Frankenstein wig." It’s a bit stiffer, and it sits differently on his head. Eventually, they let him ditch the wig for a shorter, more manageable look toward the very end of the series, but the "Dreadlock Era" remains the definitive look for Ronon Dex.
Life on Set: Whiskey and Pranks
The Atlantis set was notoriously fun, and Momoa was at the center of it. He formed a legendary bromance with lead actor Joe Flanigan (who played John Sheppard). According to various convention stories, the two of them were like frat brothers.
They reportedly lived together for a while during filming in Vancouver. Flanigan has told stories about how they would drink Guinness and pile the empty cans up as "decoration." There was even a moment during a wrap party where Momoa supposedly threw a tomahawk that narrowly missed a crew member (don't worry, everyone was fine, but it’s a very Ronon Dex thing to do).
Actually, the chemistry between Sheppard and Ronon wasn't just good writing; it was the result of two guys who genuinely liked hanging out. That "buddy cop" dynamic gave the show a levity that kept it from getting too dark, even when they were fighting soul-sucking space vampires.
What Most People Get Wrong About His "Breakout"
The common narrative is that Game of Thrones made Jason Momoa. While it certainly made him a global household name, it didn't "create" his career.
He was already a veteran by then. He had four years and nearly 80 episodes of Stargate Atlantis under his belt. He’d spent thousands of hours on a soundstage learning how to hit marks, how to work with VFX, and how to lead an ensemble. Without the discipline he learned in the Pegasus Galaxy, he likely wouldn't have been ready for the scale of a production like Thrones or the pressure of leading a billion-dollar movie like Aquaman.
In fact, it was his work on Stargate that caught the eye of the Conan the Barbarian (2011) casting directors. They saw a guy who could handle a sword and look convincing while doing it.
The Legacy of the Satedan
Is Stargate Atlantis still worth watching today? Honestly, yes.
While some of the CGI from 2005 might look a little dated, the character work holds up. Ronon Dex remains one of the best "warrior" archetypes in sci-fi because Momoa didn't play him as a mindless brute. He played him as a man who lost everything and was slowly learning how to have a family again.
If you're a fan of his modern work, going back to see him as Ronon is like watching the "origin story" of a movie star. You can see the raw talent, the physical presence, and the early signs of the actor who would eventually dominate the box office.
Actionable Insights for Fans and Aspiring Actors:
- Watch Season 2, Episode 3 ("Runner"): This is Momoa’s first appearance. It’s the perfect introduction to the character and shows exactly why he was hired.
- Don't skip the "Sateda" episode (Season 3, Episode 4): This is widely considered the best Ronon-centric episode. It’s essentially a 42-minute action movie that lets Momoa show off his stunt work.
- Study the "Silent Performance": If you're interested in acting, watch how much Momoa communicates with just his eyes and body language in his early seasons. It’s a masterclass in presence over dialogue.
- Check out the "Dial the Gate" interviews: Many of the Stargate cast members have done deep-dive interviews on YouTube recently, reflecting on their time with Jason before he was a superstar. They offer a great, grounded perspective on his rise to fame.