As most people know by now, Icelandic strongman stars as The Mountain, Gregor Clegane, in Game of Thrones season 4. In the latest episode he does his biggest scene yet where he fights Prince Oberyn Martell to the death. This eighth episode of season 4 is obviously called The Mountain and the Viper. Check out the fight below.
Spoiler alert!
You might not want to watch the fight if you have left to watch some episodes leading up to this one. The clip also contains violence and is not appropriate for children.
Westeros' most epic trial by combat is over.
For book readers, this was among the most anticipated episodes of season four, with Oberyn (Pedro Pascal) and The Mountain (Hafthor Julius Bjornsson) fighting on behalf of Tyrion and Cersei, respectively.
The fight was savage onscreen, and creating it was nearly as difficult for the actors involved. Even Bjornsson, known for competing in World's Strongest Man competitions, describes the shoot as "brutal."
"There were no holds barred, and there were retakes upon retakes to hone the scene to perfection," he told The Hollywood Reporter.
Adds Pascal: "It felt as epic as it is in the story."
The Hollywood Reporter interviewed both actors - read more here.
Hafthor, you are literally one of the world's strongest men. Did you have any worries about hurting Pedro while filming?
Hafthor Julius Bjornsson: We had to be careful during rehearsal, but during the fight itself, while filming, we had to go all in and that is where all the hard work paid off so no one got hurt, but we were able to create this amazing fight.
Who is the Mountain on ‘Game of Thrones’?
The New York Post also interviewed Hafthor:
You probably don’t want to get into a fight with Hafthor Julius Bjornsson, the actor who plays Sir Gregor Clegane, a k a the Mountain, on HBO’s “Game of Thrones.” At 6-foot-9 and 419 pounds, he’s more than imposing. He’s a tower of muscle. He can bench press 500 pounds, squat 770 pounds and dead lift 925 pounds. He consumes 10,000 calories a day. And his physical prowess was on full display in Sunday’s episode, where he finished off Prince Oberyn Martell (Pedro Pascal). The Icelandic hulk, 25, answered questions from The Post about his surprising career through a translator.
When you were doing your fight scenes with Pedro Pascal, did you have to limit yourself so as not to defeat him too quickly?
Naturally, this is acting, but yes, I had to limit my strength somewhat.
Is your native language Icelandic?
Yes, and by the way, it is the closest to the language that the Vikings spoke of all the Nordic languages.