Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson talks about how he landed the role of the Mountain on Game of Thrones

Game of Thrones has a lot of good characters, and some pretty great ones. Then there are characters that are intimidating, and huge. The Mountain is one of them. Over the course of the show, three actors have portrayed him, and the latest one is definitely the most badass.Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson, who currently plays The Mountain, is known to be a real life badass, and not just on screen.

The strongman recently won the title of Europe’s Strongest Man, a day after announcing he was diagnosed with Bell’s Palsy. In a recent interview with Men’s Health, he discussed his physique, his Game of Thrones character, and more. Read on!

He talked about the time he was first offered the role of The Mountain in Game of Thrones :

“I thought it was some kind of joke. I had no acting experience. I was just a big dude competing in Strongman.”

The audition apparently had a few lines, but what HBO really wanted to see was his athleticism, and how he handled a sword. Björnsson said :

“A lot of big guys can’t bend down, have knee pain, are slow. I’m fast. I’m flexible, especially for my size.”

The look of The Mountain was the most important thing, and apparently the reason for previous characters getting replaced. CC Smith, the sword-fighting specialist was impressed with Björnsson, and he landed the part. Björnsson said :

“I knew it was a huge thing for me, but I didn’t know how huge. It was a fucking huge U-turn.”

Check out the video clip from the interview, below :

He went on to talk about how he is prioritizing his life as of now. He isn’t really taking all the acting jobs he’s getting offered. Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson explained :

“I’m being selfish. I’m thinking of myself. I want to focus on training, eating, and sleeping. I can do commercials later.”

There’s a lot more he talks about in the interview, so go check it out here. Tell us what you thought of the interview, in the comments, down below!