The Mountain from Iceland

Summer 2013: 24-year-old Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson is working as a security guard at the local bank and likes to lift heavy things in his spare time. He has just watched an episode of his favourite series Game of Thrones when suddenly an e-mail lands in his inbox.

The sender says they're looking for a new actor in Game of Thrones. The film team is currently in Iceland to film the fourth season of the series. Perhaps Hafthor would like to audition?

"This got to be some bullshit!", Hafthor thinks to himself. He has no acting experience and does not even consider responding to this unserious request, which looks as fake as the e-mails he periodically receives about winning 100 million dollars in the lottery.

The phone rings a few days later.

Hafthor realizes that the e-mail actually was serious. The film team had heard of the huge muscular mountain from Iceland. But how strong is he really?

He meets up to the audition and is immediately asked if he can lift a full-size man of 200 pounds. «Sure, I can do that», replies Hafthor to the slightly strange question, and lifts the man over his head. The producers are really impressed. The next thing they ask him is:

"Would you like to join us for sword practice tomorrow?"

From this point on, Hafthor is no longer just Hafthor. He has become Ser Gregor Clegane "The Mountain" in the world's most popular TV series.

The world's strongest man

Hafthor welcomes me outside his own "Thors Power Gym" in the summer of 2018. He wears gray cotton shorts, blue slippers and is finally able to enjoy a few quiet days in his hometown Kópavogur outside Reykjavik.

The last six months have been very hectic. In addition to filming the last season of Game of Thrones, he has also won the three largest strongman competitions in the world, an achievement no one has ever before accomplished. In addition, he set a new deadlift world record by lifting 1041 pounds during the Arnold Strongman Classic in March. (Watch the video of the record underneath, made by the American fitness equipment company Rogue Fitness.)

Hafthor weighs 410 pounds, he is 6,8 feet tall, and is at the moment the world's undisputed strongest man.

The wall outside his gym is adorned with heavy rocks. Hafthor gathered them with his father and grandfather in the wilds north of the capital.

– I'll give you a hundred dollars for each of the rocks you can lift to your shoulder, says Hafthor.

– Ok? (I'm a bit unsure whether he's kidding or not.)

– Try this one, says Hafthor and points to the smallest rock of 302 pounds.

I try to get a good grip around the huge rock while Hafthor stands over me and his father Björn films me with his cell phone.

– Come on! You can do it! You can do it, Hafthor yells as if he thinks that I actually have a chance.

I'm able to lift the rock an inch off the ground before I have to give up and realize that the 100 dollar bills, unfortunately, will be staying in Hafthor's cotton shorts pockets.

– It's all about getting a good grip, Hafthor says in a comforting way.

– Perhaps you can lift one of the stones?

– I'm afraid not. I got a new tattoo on my thigh yesterday and have to take it easy, he apologizes.

At first glance, the big rocks can seem like a fun gimmick. But they represent an important part of the Icelandic people's national inheritance. It's actually no coincidence that the world's strongest man is Icelandic.

The giants from the Saga island

On a sandy beach on the tip of Snæfellsnes lays four lifting stones, similar to the ones outside Hafthor's gym. Here at Dritvik, one of Iceland's largest traditional fishing villages, the fishermen were only allowed to go to sea once they had proven themselves strong enough for the task.

If they couldn't lift the second smallest 120 pounds stone "hálfdrættingur", they weren't allowed to enter the boat. Because of the rugged nature and the demanding conditions, physical strength has been important to survive on the Saga island throughout history.

The old Sagas are full of stories of strong Vikings, and the Norse muscle gods Thor and Tyr were very popular. But it was first in the 1980's that the strongman culture we know today was fully established.

The charismatic Icelander Jón Páll Sigmarsson was dominating international strongman competitions and became the first person to win "World's Strongest Man" four times. Sigmarsson also opened his own gym, "Jakaból", which also was where Hafthor first started to pursue his career.

– Jon Páll has been a great inspiration to me and the rest of the culture. He set the standard for the rest of us, Hafthor says while showing off a tattoo of the Icelandic legend on his leg. Over is his famous quote: "There is no reason to be alive if you don't do deadlift."

But in order to become the strongest man in the world, you have to exert your body in the extreme. Jón Páll died of a heart attack in 1993, only 32 years old, while doing his favourite exercise: deadlift.

– What is it about strongman that makes you willing to sacrifice so much?

– I love to train and compete, and I have a passion for the sport. During the winter it is also very dark in Iceland, and there is little to do. We Icelanders have to do something to keep us alive, and I think that's why so many of us like to work out.

In the course of a week, Hafthor lifts thousands of pounds of steel in different directions, but if we're to believe the world's strongest man, it's actually not the lifting that's the most challenging thing about being a strongman.

To eat like a horse

– The most challenging part of being big and strong is that you have to eat all the time. If you skip a meal you will just become smaller, Hafthor says.

The world's strongest man brought a big box of food to the gym, filled with 0,7 pounds of rice and 0,55 pounds of beef. A decent meal for most people. The difference is that Hafthor eats this meal every two and a half hours, six times a day.

– The time is 1 pm. How many meals have you eaten today?

– I have eaten three times and will soon have my fourth meal.

– And how many calories will that be at the end of the day?

– Usually around 10 000 calories, Hafthor says.

(The average calorie intake for men is around 2500. An Icelandic horse needs around 11 000 calories a day to keep his weight, in other words, about the same as the world's strongest man.)

Hafthor walks over to the microwave in the back room to warm up his next meal before he sits down on a leather couch, which with Hafthor looks more like a chair. He's not hungry at all but still keeps on pushing the food through the hole in his face.

He's been flying business class ever since he got the role in Game of Thrones, more as a necessity than a luxury. But there was a time when he did not have the same travel budget. One of his most traumatic memories is from a long-distance flight from Malaysia, where he was seated between two talkative elderly women who both refused to trade seats with him.

– Game of Thrones has helped me in many ways, both with my career, my economy and other things, he says.

Five years have gone by since his life was forever changed. In one way, he's still working as a security guard. But instead of protecting Icelandic kronur in the bank, he's now guarding one of the most hated characters of all time – Queen Cersei Lannister – who does everything in her power to sit on the iron throne.

«The Mountain»

(Before reading on: Be aware that the next part contains spoilers from season 4 of Game of Thrones.)

– When I said yes to the role, I had no idea how big the part actually was. The Mountain doesn't have a lot of lines, but every time he appears in the show it gets a lot of attention. I had no idea that the fight against "The Viper" would get so much attention.

The scene Hafthor is referring to is in fact the climax of season 4, which ends with his character crushing the head of his opponent with just his bare hands. A scene I had fresh in my mind when I (luckily) met a slightly gentler actor outside his gym.

– How well do you know your own character?

– I haven't read the books, to be honest with you, but "The Mountain" is without a doubt a very emotional man who took off with anger. He's really strong and uses his power to do violence and kill people. He burned his brothers face when they were kids, and I also heard that he probably killed the rest of his family as well.

– Where do you think this anger comes from?

– Probably something that happened to him in his childhood. Who knows?

A few weeks ago, Hafthor filmed his very last scene in Game of Thrones. The fans still need to wait at least six more months until season 8 airs sometime the first half of 2019.

– How does it feel to be done with Game of Thrones?

– I'm very happy to have been part of this journey. But it has also been a lot of traveling, which has affected my training. I can now be more committed to become as strong as possible, says Hafthor who had three second places and three thirds in the World's Strongest Man before he finally won first place this year.

Cleganebowl

After finishing filming season 8, Hafthor revealed that he just had filmed his favourite scene in Game of Thrones.

The big question everyone now is wondering about is: Will we see "Cleganebowl"? (One last deciding match between "The Mountain" and his little brother Sandor Clegane)

– That's a really good question. I would love to answer you, but unfortunately, I can't, Hafthor answers.

– I understand...

A few seconds of silence.

– Perhaps you could nod, without saying anything?

– No, I actually can't, Hafthor responds.

– Ok, I understand, I say a little bit heartbroken.

Hafthor looks at me in compassion, and nods?*

^{* I 2017 Hafthor was diagnosed with Bell's palsy – a disease which creates paralysis of the muscles in the face. He's therefor not 100 percent in control of his face, which unfortunately must be taken into consideration whether the nod actually was a nod or not.}

PS: Did you miss this one?

Watch Kristofer Hivju singing "Yellow Bird" by The Mills Brothers in duet with Rory McCann, "The Little Brother" of "The Mountain":