Jason Momoa has revealed that he struggled to find acting work after Baywatch.
The actor starred in the hit TV show for two years but says that he wasn't taken serious as he tried to find other roles.
He goes on to credit Stargate Atlantis as he believes his time on the show set him up to take on the role of Conan.
Speaking to Movieline the actor said: "I love that it got me into acting, because I was 19 when I got it and it's now 13 years later.
"I love that it gave me the opportunity to fall in love with acting, but it also really, really hurt me, being on it. Just because it's Baywatch, people don't think you can act. I'm constantly fighting that stigma."
"It took me four or five years just to get an agent. I couldn't get a job afterwards. No-one would take me seriously. So I went, 'Screw them' - I went to school, trained, I travelled the world and finally got in there a little bit.
"Then Stargate Atlantis was very great to me. I loved Stargate, and I had fantastic crews and cast. It was like getting paid to go to school. It set me up to play Conan."
Conan the Barbarian is a new project for the actor as he takes on the title character in the reboot of the eighties franchise.
He has already enjoyed success this year with TV show Game of Thrones but Conan is his first big lead role in a movie.
Conan The Barbarian is released 26th August.
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