In a new interview with SAMDB News, Justice League star Jason Momoa revealed what it was like auditioning for the role of Aquaman for Batman v Superman.

According to Momoa, director Zack Snyder had him read Batman lines. Momoa already knew that Ben Affleck was cast as Batman, so he assumed that Snyder wanted him to play a Batman villain. He admitted that he was shocked when Snyder told him he wanted him to play Aquaman. Check out his full answer below.

What went through your mind when director Zack Snyder first approached you about playing Arthur Curry / Aquaman and reinventing this iconic Super Hero for a new generation?

When Zack first approached me, it was a bit of a mystery because when I went in for the audition, he wanted me to read for Batman – and Ben [Affleck] had already been cast in the role by that point. So, I knew something fishy was going on and just read the lines with a lot of attitude, like I didn’t care what was on the page [laughs]! And then Zack said to me, ‘Do you know who I want you to play?’ I said, ‘Oh, yeah, I’ll be a villain or some bad dude who comes in and fights Batman – sounds like fun.’ He said, ‘I want you to play Aquaman.’

So, I was just standing there, kind of in shock. All I could think of was the traditional Aquaman from the comics – who is white and blond and wears the orange and green costume. I thought he had to be joking… but Zack had this look on his face. He said, ‘Hear me out,’ and told me that he wanted the Aquaman in this film to be an outsider, along the lines of Clint Eastwood’s character, the Outlaw Josey Wales. I was born in Hawaii and raised in Iowa, and basically grew up an outsider, so I could definitely identify with that. I also liked that Arthur is a half-breed – half-Atlantean and half-human – and was really interested in the idea of him being this brown-skinned Super Hero who is part of two worlds but doesn’t belong to either one. I think that’s pretty special. And me being a Hawaiian, Aquaman’s mythology also resonated with me because we have water gods in our culture – and that goes for many islands. That’s why it feels like such an honor to play this guy.