was huge, the biggest man that Eddard Stark had ever seen. Robert Baratheon and his brothers were all big men, as was the Hound, and back at Winterfell there was a simpleminded stableboy named Hodor who dwarfed them all, but the knight they called the Mountain That Rides would have towered over Hodor. He was well over seven feet tall, closer to eight, with massive shoulders and arms thick as the trunks of small trees. His destrier seemed a pony in between his armored legs, and the lance he carried looked as small as a broom handle.
While there is only one man in Westeros who fits that remarkable description, the role of Ser Gregor Clegane on HBO’s Game of Thrones was recast for the third time back in September. The Mountain was played by Australian wrestler and actor Conan Stevens in the show’s first season and by Welsh actor Ian Whyte in the second. While Gregor Clegane was absent from the show’s third season, Icelandic actor and bodybuilder Hafthor Julius Bjornsson will be portray the character in the fourth.
At a mere 6’9”, Bjornsson is the shortest of the three Mountains, but is still physically imposing enough to terrify anyone in the Seven Kingdoms. The actor posted a photo of himself in costume on his Instagram account yesterday. Take a look and quake in fear!
No spoilers for those who have not read the books, but the Mountain plays an important part in the events of A Storm of Swords. Bjornsson has the appearance of a ruthless warrior (minus the happiness of the photo), so let’s hope he can act as terrifying as he looks so that his key moments in the text resonate on screen.
Do you have any thoughts about Bjornsson’s casting? What are your hopes for the fourth season of Game of Thrones? Share your SPOILER-FREE comments down below!
Via Instagram and Digital Spy