The Mountain From 'Game of Thrones' Needed Stunt Double for the First Time in Season 8

There’s no debate Season 8 of Game of Thrones will be action-packed, but Iceland native Hafthor Júlíus Bjornsson, who plays Gregor Clegane, a.k.a. “The Mountain,” just confirmed how much more hardcore the upcoming season will be.

In a recent interview with Mashable, Bjornsson dished about the final season. Though he couldn’t reveal any details too juicy, he did let up a very interesting piece of information about The Mountain. Season eight was “certainly the hardest season I’ve filmed for Game Of Thrones,” Bjornsson said. In fact, filming got so complicated that Bjornsson needed a stunt double to play The Mountain for the first time in Game of Thrones history.

“All the seasons prior to this season that we just finished filming, I never had stunt doubles," Bjornsson said. "I always did everything myself. But the last season I filmed, the season that hasn’t been shown on television, I had a stunt double there."

Though fans would love to hear about the scene (or scenes) Bjornsson needed a stunt double for, the actor wouldn’t give it up. “I can’t go into details you know, but I had a stunt double there, I can tell you that,” he said. “He was big,” the actor continued. “He was tall, not as muscular.”

It definitely couldn’t have been easy to match Bjornsson’s size, as he is a professional strongman in addition to appearing on Thrones. The actor stands 6’9” tall, and currently holds the title of World’s Strongest Man.

As Bjornsson has never needed a stunt double before, we can’t help but wonder what exactly happens to the Mountain in season eight. Perhaps Cleganebowl? Knowing the secrecy surrounding Thrones, however, we can’t expect the answer to this question until the season airs on April 14.

This article also appears on Mental Floss.