VIDEO EXCLUSIVE: Mainei Kinimaka On Working With Cousin Jason Momoa On ‘The Last Manhunt’

Set in the early 1900s in the Wild West, The Last Manhunt tells the true story of Willie Boy. He falls in love with Carlotta, a young girl from the Chemehuevi tribe, but they are forbidden from being together by Carlotta’s father. When her father is killed by an accidental gunshot, Willie Boy and Carlotta end up on the run.

Mainei Kinimaka, who plays Carlotta, recently sat down for an exclusive with uInterview founder Erik Meers to discuss what it was like working with her cousin, Aquaman‘s Jason Momoa on the film.

“Jason has mentored me in acting since I was about 19,” Kinimaka said. “Jason’s done a lot as far as effort to try to bring up the indigenous community with young actors and young filmmakers so at the time, I was one of the people that he was training, kind of like a protégé. I was on the television series for Apple TV+ called See that he was on the lead of and when See was over, his next thing he was going to move on to was Last Manhunt. He thought that, and Thomas Pa’a Sibbett the writer also thought that my disposition and the way I was suited the character. They have been friends with all the cast and crew. It kind of was all these beautiful people that they’ve picked up along the way as filmmakers and artists in their careers, so it was a culmination of bringing together this massive family of people onto this production. I think that’s what you can see as everything is really cohesive in that way because it was really a bunch of friends having fun and making art in the desert.”

She also revealed the advice Momoa imparted during their time working together.

“He gives me advice in life on every aspect,” Kinimaka said. “Jason is like my uncle, he’s like my brother, but he really in a way led me through this film. He also gave me a lot of leeway to figure everything out for myself. I had the guidance and a lot of advice from the cast. I mean they’re all phenomenal actors as well, but his main advice was just to let everything flow and find those moments of sincerity. I think that’s something he really strives for in his filmmaking and acting as well. That was his main advice and it worked well for me in the film.”

The Last Manhunt is in theaters now.