The Mountain from 'Game of Thrones' Is Officially the World's Strongest Man
His fearsome "Game of Thrones" character is infamous for his brute strength, and now, the actor who plays The Mountain on the HBO series has been awarded for his real-life physical prowess.
Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson, the Icelandic actor and professional bodybuilder who's portrayed Ser Gregor Clegane since season one, finished first in the World's Strongest Man competition this past weekend, after entering the contest eight times. Björnsson, who'd already been crowned Europe's Strongest Man four times, earned the world title thanks to his impressive finish in a series of grueling competitions, including carrying refrigerators, lifting giant logs, tossing kegs, pulling vehicles like planes and trucks (the specific model varies each year), and placing objects known as Atlas Stones -- a.k.a. giant boulders ranging in weight from 100 to 160 kg -- onto high platforms.
The actor documented his journey through the competition on Instagram, at one point sharing that he was "Running with [a] 150kg/330lb sandbag like nothing." Considering how effortless he made terrorizing the citizens of Westeros look on "Game of Thrones," we'd imagine that Björnsson probably does find carrying a giant sandbag pretty easy.
The entire World's Strongest Man competition is set to air on CBS beginning on June 10, and running through September 2. "Thrones" fans who can't wait until season nine premieres next year can just pretend they're watching Björnsson competing as The Mountain (minus the zombie part, anyway).
[h/t The A.V. Club]