Game of Thrones went through several recasts over its 8 seasons, but why exactly did The Mountain of all characters go through that process twice?
With such a rich and engaging lore from the mind of a literary master like George R.R. Martin, perhaps it’s no surprise that Game of Thrones has one of the greatest ensemble casts of characters ever put on television. Seeing such memorable performances from inspired casting, from Peter Dinklage as Tyrian to Lena Headey as Cersei, it’s almost impossible to imagine anyone else playing them as well as they did. Throughout the show’s run, however, there were a few surprising cases of recasting certain characters, but when it came to the character of Gregor “The Mountain” Clegane, a recasting didn’t just happen once, but twice.
For one reason or another, recasts in television shows have never been an uncommon practice; but it’s practically unheard of for any character in any show to be recast as many times as The Mountain was. Before officially settling on actor Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson for the majority of The Mountain’s appearances in the show, the previous two actors each had their reason for departing the role. But why exactly was the monstrous Gregor Clegane played by three different actors over the show’s eight-season run, and which actor managed to pull off playing the character the best?
Who is Gregor “The Mountain” Clegane on Game of Thrones?
While the world of Game of Thrones is full of engaging, complex characters who undergo significant growth throughout the series, the thing that makes a character like The Mountain just as interesting as he is terrifying is that he lacks those same complexities and growth. He’s a character of very few words (and even fewer after his treatment from Qyburn), but what he lacks in brains he more than compensates for with brawn. He’s not the smartest character in the show by any stretch of the imagination, but he certainly seems to have an understanding of the weaknesses of others, one that proves to be a useful and deadly attribute in combat. Despite being awarded the position of knighthood, he is by far one of the most dishonorable men in all of Westeros, acting as a mad lapdog for the Lannister family, and a physical extension of their violent methods.
Always and immediately acting on anger and irrational violence, Gregor Clegane is less of a man and more of a monster; one who, as far back as early childhood, acts purely on a primal-like impulse. Having severely burned the face of his brother Sandor “The Hound” Clegane as a child for playing with one of his toys, and committing several other atrocious acts that are arguably far worse into adulthood, the character could be best described as a dangerous and ignorant man-child who resorts to physical violence whenever anything doesn’t go his way. Feared throughout practically all of Westeros, perhaps it was Bronn who offered the best-in-show description of him. When asked by Tyrion if Gregor truly frightened him, he responded “I’d be a bloody fool if he didn’t frighten me. He’s freakish big and freakishly strong, and quicker than you’d expect for a man of that size.”
Why Gregor Clegane Kept Being Recast for Game of Thrones
For a character like The Mountain, it may be easy to imagine that the casting process was not an entirely easy thing. The character needed to be played by someone large enough to have a naturally imposing appearance and pull off the character’s silent and threatening attitude. Although he only played him for a total of two episodes in the show’s first season, Australian wrestler-turned-actor, Conan Stevens, made quite an impression in his introductory performance as the character. Standing at a truly mountain-esque stature of seven feet and one inch tall, at least physically, Stevens was an undeniably perfect choice for the role of the ruthless giant. His time on the show was ultimately cut short, however, when he was caught in a schedule conflict and left in favor of taking on the role of the Orc warrior, Bolg, in Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit trilogy.
Season 2 saw a new actor take Stevens’ place, Ian Whyte, standing at the same surprising height. While his tenure as the character lasted much longer than Stevens, managing to last up to the end of Season 3, he would ultimately end up leaving the role as well. Unlike his predecessor, however, this wasn’t due to any sort of conflicting schedules with other projects, but more due to the actor not being able to properly find his footing with the character. According to DigitalSpy, Whyte had a reportedly difficult time trying to tackle the motivations of Clegane and “struggled to distance himself emotionally from the character’s horrific violence.” Luckily however, Whyte’s talents didn’t go to waste on the show, as many fans may also remember him for having played not just one but multiple characters that required heavy prosthetic use throughout the show’s run, from the Night King to Wun Wun the Wildling.
As a result of Whyte’s departure, Clegane was recast for the second and final time in Season 4 with Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson. Thankfully, this casting was the one that managed to truly stick. Björnsson gave a performance that many have since considered to be the definitive portrayal of the character, playing him for the remainder of his appearances until the eighth and final season. Despite standing at a shorter height than the previous two actors, at six feet and nine inches, the chilling intimidation of performance certainly proved that size really doesn’t matter.
Who Played Gregor “The Mountain” Clegane the Best?
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With a character like The Mountain having been played by three actors, it’s only natural that the fans are each going to have their own favorite portrayal of him. Each actor managed to bring their sense of danger to the character with their individual performances, but which one managed to be the most memorably threatening? Given how much longer he was able to play the character, there’s no doubt that Björnsson was able to leave a larger and more lasting impression on the show’s fan base. There’s always a chance that had Stevens stayed on board, he would’ve been able to hold a similar lasting legacy as the character. He may have laid the groundwork, but it was Björnsson who set the true standard.
Having lasted far longer in his portrayal of the character than his predecessors’ did, naturally, Björnsson was given plenty more opportunities to shine. He was the one who got to see The Mountain through the most significant changes in his character, especially when he had to undergo the grotesque transformation by Qyburn. On top of that, the fan base was able to see him fight in more battles and even execute some of the show’s most memorable and gruesome character deaths. Fans would also be hard-pressed to forget how, in only his second of seventeen total episodes, he was the one responsible for the brutally unforgettable death of Pedro Pascal’s character, Oberyn Martell. The very idea of recasting is never an easy one to tackle, but thankfully, unlike so many others, a character like The Mountain was one that, thanks to the dedication of the actors, managed to be overlooked by so many fans and didn’t give them much of a reason to complain.
