Letting Jason Momoa cut lose in a children’s movie seems like a no-brainer, so it’s wild that it took until now for someone to finally make it happen. In the first teaser for Slumberland, Momoa plays the horned outlaw Flip who helps a young girl (Marlow Barkley) navigate a world of dreams to reunite with her late father. Directed by Francis Lawrence for Netflix, the film is a modern take on the famous turn-of-the-century comic strip Little Nemo in Slumberland. More importantly, it was a chance for Momoa to be a big ol’ kid.
“I became an actor. I can’t get out of it. I’m trying to be adult as possible. But the truth of it is, I just love to play, and it’s fun to be creative and use your imagination,” Momoa told PEOPLE, “My kids keep me young, and doing the things you love to do, just playing.”
Slumberland reconnects Momoa with Lawrence after the two worked together on See for Apple TV, who encouraged the actor to cut loose:
The rapport with “someone that trusts you, kind of knows your personality and lets you fall and make mistakes, but keep trying” allowed him to experiment with his performance.
“And normally, directors, they kind of pull you in, they reel you in. And [Lawrence] just kept encouraging more and more and wilder and wilder. I just felt really free,” says Momoa.
Slumberland starts dreaming November 18 on Netflix.
(Via PEOPLE)
