Can't wait for 'Game of Thrones' Sunday premiere? Watch your favorite The Mountain dragging a plane in short film on him
Before he was The Mountain on 'Game of Thrones', Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson was an athlete with one purpose: to become the strongest man to ever walk the earth. He won the title in 2018 - his seventh consecutive trip to the World's Strongest Man podium. He is also the first person ever to have won the Arnold Strongman Classic, Europe's Strongest Man and World's Strongest Man all in the same year.
However, there is more to The Mountain's journey than these achievements. You can take a look at his journey on 'Strongman: Beyond the Mountain' - an E:60 short film scheduled for 9 am EST on ESPN this Sunday.
The short film is shot in and around his home town of Rekyavik in Iceland and follows the strongman's years-long quest to become The World's Strongest Man, following a short stint as a pro basketball player. The film also offers an insight into his surprise audition for 'Game of Thrones' and discusses the challenges he faced when balancing his acting career, strongman training, and the role of a father. It also has a clip of him dragging a plane.
In an interview earlier this year, The Mountain reflected on his time spent on Iceland's U18 team. "I was a bit crazy and trained a lot, probably three times a day. Before school, then afterwards, plus I was lifting at night." His stint as a pro baller was cut short by surgery on his ankle. "I was very sad. I wasn't sure what the next step was," he had said.
That's when he shifted his focus to building his strength. "I've always enjoyed lifting heavy; I saw extremely good results," he had said. He started running less and eating more - "I just got hooked, seeing how strong I got and how much my body changed." Following this, he started competing in strongman contests being placed second three times and third thrice again, before finally winning in 2018.
If you think there isn't more to it, 'Strongman: Beyond the Mountain' is narrated by Anton Lesser, who plays the role of Qyburn on 'Game of Thrones'.