Let me make it very clear. THIS BLOG HAS SOME GAME OF THRONES SPOILERS. So, if you’re a fan and are all caught up, cool beans. If not, then you have been warned.
We told you to watch out for Hafþór “Thor” Björnsson on HBO’s hugely successful show Game of Thrones, which is based on the books of George R. R. Martin. Well, we weren’t talking out of our spout. The Icelandic strongman, who placed second in this year’s strongman competition behind Zydrunas Savickas was a revelation in his role as Ser Gregor Clegane, aka The Mountain, who instills fear among all with his prowess for murder and plunder. In true strongman fashion, here is how Thor explained how he got the role in a recent Reddit AMA: “They (HBO) contacted me and called me in for an audition; during the audition I lifted the guy up (well he asked me to) and they were really impressed. They said they were also impressed by the way I move because I am very quick and powerful (especially considering my height and muscle mass) – like you will see in season 4 ;).”
In the episode that has the Interweb agog, he was up against Oberyn (played by Pedro Pascal), a charismatic prince from the kingdom of Dorne. Here is what the two look like side-by-side in real life:
Bit of a weight and strength difference there, no doubt, but Oberyn has some sick spear skills. Anyway, let’s just say it was one hell of a fight with a cracking finale. For those of you not into the show, check out Thor doing what he does best: here he is deadlifting 994 pounds at the 2014 Arnold Strongman Classic:
And, just in case you think he’s gone all Hollywood, check out his recent training post on Instagram:
Congrats Thor, for putting strongmen on the pop culture map!
