Ser Gregor Clegane (the Mountain) is portrayed by Conan Stevens in season one, Ian Whyte in season two, and Hafór Jlus Björnsson in season four and through the show's final season.
Gregor Clegane, also known as "The Mountain That Rides" or simply "The Mountain," is a fictional character in George R. R. Martin's fantasy novel series A Song of Ice and Fire and its Game of Thrones television adaptation.
The first appearance of the character in the books occurs in the 1996 novel A Game of Thrones. In the years that followed, he made appearances in A Clash of Kings (1998), A Storm of Swords (2000), and A Dance with Dragons (2011).
He is a legendary knight who serves as House Lannister's retainer. He is renowned for his enormous size, battle prowess, extreme cruelty, and explosive temper. He is Sandor "The Hound" Clegane's older brother, and Sandor has hated him ever since Gregor cruelly burned Sandor's face in a brazier when they were young.
He is brought back to life by Qyburn using duplicitous means after being fatally wounded in a duel with Oberyn Martell, and he joins the Kingsguard and becomes Cersei Lannister's personal bodyguard.
Conan Stevens from Australia and Ian Whyte from Wales played Clegane in the HBO television adaptation's first and second seasons, respectively. In season four, world champion strongman and Icelandic actor Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson took over and played the character through the show's final season.
Why was “The Mountain's" role recast in Game of Thrones?
Game of Thrones made the most of the Mountain's lack of dialogue when casting the role, which helps viewers adjust to the casting changes less abruptly.
Conan Stevens, an actor and wrestler, originated the role of The Mountain in the first season of Game of Thrones. Before landing the part of Gregor, he actually pushed and tried out for a role of Khal Drogo. Due to scheduling issues, the actor was later replaced before season 2 and thus he only appeared in two episodes. Stevens was given the role of an orc king in The Hobbit movie series after Game of Thrones.
The Mountain was then played by Ian Whyte in season 2 and he also played the same White Walker character that he had in the first season of the show. Whyte has acknowledged that because of how brutally the character was portrayed on screen, it was challenging for him to keep his emotions in check while playing Gregor. Whyte was retained by Game of Thrones after his time as the Mountain, and he later played Dongo, a giant in the wildling army, and Wun Weg Wun Dar Wun, a wight giant.
When the Mountain reappeared in Game of Thrones season 4, the final season for which George R.R. Martin wrote episodes; Icelandic actor and strongman Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson took over the role.
Despite numerous recastings, the majority of fans still associate the Mountain with Björnsson's face. He played Gregor in some of the most iconic scenes of the character: Björnsson's Gregor broke Oberyn's skull, stood by Cersei as a devoted guard, and finally engaged in the highly anticipated Cleganebowl match with his younger brother Sandor.
The Mountain was best portrayed by who?
Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson, who played the mountain in Game of Thrones, arguably had the best scenes on the show. The Game of Thrones season 4 episode "Mockingbird" introduced the Icelandic strongman, and the season 7 episode "The Bells," in which an epic battle between the Clegane brothers took place, marked the end of his 17-episode run.
When he cut the head off of his own horse during a joust, Conan Stevens gave the character a bombastic introduction that revealed who the man truly was. However, because the wrestler only appeared in two episodes, there was insufficient time to fully develop Mountain.
In the world of Game of Thrones, Ian Whyte spent a lot of time playing characters like the Mountain, a White Walker, Wun Wun, and Dongo. His appearance was noticeably different from Conan Stevens' when he appeared in three episodes as the Mountain early in the series.
However, Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson had the opportunity to dominate some of the best Mountain scenes, most notably when he miraculously managed to crush Oberyn's head in "The Mountain and the Viper." At this point, he was poisoned and revived as a creature that was hardly human.
As the bruising figure became more involved in the narrative, Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson gave the character a presence that was truly frightening and cemented the actor in people's minds as the true Mountain. After this point, prosthetics did the majority of the work when it came to making the character look freakishly intimidating.
Who is Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson?
Born on November 26, 1988, Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson is a professional strongman from Iceland who is regarded as one of the greatest strength athletes of all time. He has numerous Strongman titles from various strength federations, as well as numerous world records.
He is the first and only person in history to win the Arnold Strongman Classic, Europe's Strongest Man, and World's Strongest Man competitions all in the same calendar year (2018).
He is the third-most decorated strongman in history, behind Lithuania's Žydrūnas Savickas and Poland's Mariusz Pudzianowski, and many strength analysts and strongman experts consider Hafór to be "the strongest man to have ever lived" in terms of pure brute strength. Hafþór has performed as an actor on television as Ser Gregor Clegane for five seasons of the HBO series Game of Thrones.He is frequently known as "Thor" or "The Mountain," the latter of which has come to be closely associated with that character as a result of his own enormous size.
FAQs
Q. Who is Conan Stevens?
A. Australian actor and former professional wrestler Mark "Conan" Stevens. He stands 213 cm (7') tall. Stevens, a two-time winner of the IWA Heavyweight Championship, played the role of Man-Thing in the Marvel movie (2005).
Q. Who is Ian Whyte?
A. Ian Stuart Whyte, a Welsh actor, stuntman, and former basketball player, is best known for his performances as Predators in the Alien vs. Predator movie series, The Last Engineer in Prometheus, as well as a number of characters in the HBO fantasy series Game of Thrones.
Q. Who portrayed the Mountain in the Game of Thrones?
A. Conan Stevens, Ian Whyte, and Hafór Jlus Björnsson all played the Mountain in the series Game of Thrones, respectively in seasons one, two, and four through eight.
