Game of Thrones star Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson, who played the Mountain, reveals his new look, where he’s unrecognizeable and completely ripped.
Game of Thrones alum Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson, known for playing the towering knight, Gregor Clegane, also known as The Mountain, recently shared an image showing off his new physique.
Björnsson shared an image of himself on Instagram with his shredded look, not long after posting a throwback photo, likely from several months ago. In both, the actor is nearly unrecognizeable from his appearance in Game of Thrones. In his most recent post, he explained he has been working with healthcare provider Transcend to “figure out exactly what my body needed so I could perform better as an athlete and feel better mentally and physically in my everyday life.”
Since his appearance in Game of Thrones, Björnsson has broken numerous strength records, going so far as to become the first in a new weight class and became the first titan weight boxing champion, weighing in at 344 pounds.
Testing The Mountain’s Strength
He followed it up this year with what was described as the “Heaviest Boxing Match in History,” against Eddie Hall, who was crowned the world’s strongest man. Björnsson lost the second round in that match, but won against Hall in the other five, leaving the judges to unanimously declare the Game of Thrones actor the victor.
The strongman made his debut on HBO’s hit fantasy show in the Season 4 episode “Mockingbird.” He was the third actor to take on the role after Conan Stevens and Ian Whyte. While the character is described in George R.R. Martin’s novels as being 8ft tall, Björnsson is actually 6 ft 9 in tall and is the shortest of the three actors to portray the knight.
He previously discussed the difficulties of maintaining his weight and build while filming Game of Thrones, mainly because of the dietary requirements. In 2018, Björnsson said, “For example, when I have to shoot that day, I have to basically eat on set… Just like eat between takes and if I’m shooting for 18 hours, I’m definitely going to rest that day, I don’t want to go to the gym. So, you have to listen to your body as well. Some days you just can’t train.”
Source: Instagram