The Aquaman star emcees Discovery Channel’s seven-day, shark-filled event, which kicks off July 23

Discovery (2).

Jason Momoa has been eager to sink his teeth into Shark Week activities for quite some time.

In the new issue of PEOPLE, the Aquaman actor, who hosts the annual event on Discovery Channel this year, says he’s “been begging to do it for a while now. We’ve been trying to do it probably since 2018.”

The issue had been coordinating his busy schedule with Shark Week’s production. This year, however, the stars aligned. “Thank God we could squeeze it in,” says Momoa, who taped his segments in New Zealand while in production on his upcoming Apple TV+ series Chief of War.

Discovery Channel’s annual fin-filled extravaganza — now in its 35th year — showcases the beauty and brutality of the magnificent apex predators in different docuseries.

Specials for 2023 include titles like Belly of the Beast: Feeding Frenzy, featuring researchers who pile into a whale decoy in hopes of finding an enormous great white shark, and Air Jaws: Final Frontier, which highlights ocean predators that soar above the surface of the water.

There are nearly 20 hours of new programming for Shark Week 2023. Momoa introduces each night of Shark Week with one researcher at a time — like marine scientist Dr. Riley Elliott — as part of his hosting duties.

And though some may assume the actor was enlisted because of his convenient movie tie-in (Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom hits theaters in December), Momoa has a deep knowledge of the subject matter.

“It’s my original passion. This goes back to something I’ve wanted to do my whole life,” says Momoa, a self-described “nerd” who studied marine and wildlife biology in college before he pursued acting.

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Jason Momoa at a Fast X screening in New Zealand.FIONA GOODALL/GETTY

Momoa, who’s also known for his conservation work and crusade against single-use plastic bottles, says he was most excited to “meet the people who encounter” sharks, like Kina Scollay, anunderwater cinematographer and shark researcher, who survived a shark attack 20 years ago.

“I got to meet people I’ve always wanted to meet and pick their brains, so that was fun,” he says.

Momoa, a Hawaii native, watched Shark Week growing up, and tuning in is a tradition he carries on with his family. “It’s a fun thing that I can share and learn with them,” says Momoa, who shares daughter Lola Iolani, 16, and son Nakoa-Wolf, 14, with his ex-wife Lisa Bonet, 55.

If Momoa has his way, he’ll become a fixture on the Discovery Channel every summer; he teases: “I’m hoping Shark Week goes well, and I can do another one, and then another one, and just pass on more information.”

Momoa’s enthusiasm for the event is apparent in the video Discovery released in June announcing his hosting duties. In the clip, he strolls to the shoreline of an empty beach, and as he approaches the water, the music begins to swell.

He begins “conducting” as sharks jump out of the water. Suddenly the music stops, and Momoa yells, “I’m doing Shark Week!”

“A top-rated programming event that attracted more than 28 million viewers last year, Shark Week also will spotlight innovative technology used to track and study unique shark species and their enemies,” Discovery Channel said in a release announcing the Shark Week 2023 programming slate.

“Showcasing the work of the world’s most respected marine biologists and science institutions, Shark Week also will delve into mating and migration patterns — showing rare footage — as researchers follow the sharks to remote locations in South Africa and New Zealand,” Discovery Channel added.

Shark Week premieres July 23 on the Discovery Channel. Shark Week programming will also be available to stream on Max.

For more on Jason Momoa, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday.