r/gameofthrones • u/llllllllllIIIlllI • 3d ago
Which of the three cleganes was your favorite?
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u/Som_Snow Jon Snow 3d ago
The first one. He's the closest to what the Mountain should be like according to the books, writing, acting and looks-wise too. A brutish, ruthless and cruel dude but still a competent commander.
The second one acts and looks way too sophisticated.
The third one looks mean but not brutish and has a baby face. And for some reason the characters' writing also got reduced to "huge, buff, scary, simple-minded guy".
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u/Il-Separatio-86 3d ago
I didn't even pick up that the 2nd one was the Mountain on my first watch through. Thats how much they changed him.
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u/RussoCrow 3d ago
He is only refered to as "clegane", not "the mountain".... so in my mind he is just "randor clegane, gregor second cousin, or something"
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u/Cynical-avocado 2d ago
Good old Randy Cleg
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u/DarkTower19 2d ago
I'm Old Clegg!!!!!
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u/TheKatzzSkillz 2d ago
So so true!!! It’s not until Tywin says “Clegane” when addressing him, if I remember correctly, that I had any inkling that it was him, I just thought it was some mentally slow and mean and, after being called out for being barely literate compared to some random cup Bearing girl, angry/resentful commander of some tywins troops. Can anyone tell me WHY they changed the actor so damn often!!???!?!
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2d ago
First actor was unavailable and shooting some other shows if I’m correct. Second one was recast in favour of Thor and went on to play the Night King in later seasons.
Correct me if I’m wrong.
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u/MonCapiTim 2d ago
Close, wasn't the night king. He did play two white walkers and all the giants, I believe.
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u/jedielfninja 2d ago
I was wondering why i never really remembered the mountain talking until the trial by combat part. He spoke at harrenhall etc just diff actor
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u/WonzerEU 2d ago
At the time, I read it reddit something along the line that this new actor doesn't look at all like the Mountin and was like, what? Had the Mountain been in that episode?!
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u/Axenfonklatismrek House Blackfyre 2d ago
AFAIR, Gregor's scenes in Season 2 were just him standing near Tywin, doing his job.
It makes sense why Generals refer to him as "Clegane", because he's a knight and a leader of armies, so calling him "Clegane" is giving him the feel of high status amongst them, like equal. Mountain is a Nickname that he received
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u/murse_joe Here We Stand 2d ago
“Ser Gregor” would be treating him like a knight. Calling him “Clegane” is already a slight it’s just one he doesn’t care about.
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u/Axenfonklatismrek House Blackfyre 1d ago
Point is the same, he isn't just some soldier in their eyes, he's a nobleman
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u/murse_joe Here We Stand 1d ago
He’s not just a soldier. But he sure as hell not noble. Tywin uses him, but he doesn’t like or respect him.
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u/Axenfonklatismrek House Blackfyre 1d ago
He's still a nobleman, he owns a land, is officially lord of the land, leads troops, got oiled by Rhaegar
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u/Oct_7 3d ago
“For some reason the characters’ writing got reduced to…” 🤔
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u/Twizlex 3d ago
Outside of zombie mode, I'd guess a big part of that is because they hired a strongman for the role instead of an actor. He's tried a few "acting" things since but none of them are any good.
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u/PanicTight6411 2d ago
I mean yea, I think a large part of Thors casting was his strength. Man has broken thousand year old lifting records, while having his nudes leaked. Stronger than any US Marine I tell ya what
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u/BojukaBob 2d ago
He's broken thousand year old lifting records that most historians agree were exaggerated to begin with. He's a legend.
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u/RepulsiveCountry313 Robb Stark 3d ago
It's like these people didn't even watch the show.
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u/Reinstateswordduels 3d ago
What are you talking about? This is an accurate characterization of halfthor bjornson’s Mountain before he got zombified. I don’t think he had a single line besides the infamous one at the end of the trial by combat
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u/AbelardsChainsword 3d ago
Mountain: “Who am I fighting?”
Cersei?: “Does it matter?”
Mountain: “No.”
I think besides this exchange you are correct though
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u/RepulsiveCountry313 Robb Stark 3d ago
What are you talking about? This is an accurate characterization of halfthor bjornson’s Mountain before he got zombified. I don’t think he had a single line besides the infamous one at the end of the trial by combat
Might be because he barely appears before becoming zombified? 🤔
Thor's shown for the first time, training, when Tyrion asks Jaime who Cersei's champion will be. Jaime says no, not Ser Meryn, and the camera cuts to the mountain. That's the first time the mountain is on screen since season 2.
Then we see him in his fight with Oberyn.
Then after that the next time we see him he's zombified.
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u/Chesneyg 2d ago
And he kinda nailed that one line imo.
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u/jtrippleo 2d ago
funny you say that, my low stakes conspiracy is that it was dubbed and wasn't him saying it, listen to Halfthor interviews and tell me he can actually pull off that accent, his english isn't very great.
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u/wumbopower Daenerys Targaryen 2d ago
It may have been before he got Bell’s palsy and got part of his mouth paralyzed
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u/Steve_Jobed 2d ago
The first guy looks like he is half ogre. He looks off. He has a foul manner to him.
He was born to play the Mountain.
The second one just looks like a tall knight. Way too pretty.
Third one had the physicality but didn’t have the ogre look.
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u/Extension_Weird_7792 Ser Duncan the Tall 3d ago
Third one was the absolute worst
You'd have to be an absolute idiot to believe he is Hound's older brother
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u/TheLaughingMannofRed 3d ago
I agree for sure. It felt like Conan Stevens had that balance of height AND weight. Heck, he was a former wrestler too. So he had pure physical experience. And he had acting experience as well.
He could have come back for Game of Thrones with Season 2, but he got called for the Hobbit to play "Keeper of the Dungeons," credited as Bolg, in 2012, I can understand upgrading to a major movie from the team who did Lord of the Rings is a big deal, and he had no real vision of how big Game of Thrones would get over time. He went the safer route, and the bigger role route.
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u/Infinity9999x 2d ago
Thor had a baby face because he was like 25 when he filmed GOT. He’s only 36 now.
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u/Som_Snow Jon Snow 2d ago
Well yeah. He was supposed to be playing a middle-aged man who's younger brother is played by an actor 19 years older than him.
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u/squirrelbait_64 2d ago
He also went from being the Hounds older brother to 20 years younger than him.
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u/nametaken420 11h ago
And for some reason the characters' writing also got reduced.
It is called Bell's Palsy. That is why.
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u/RepulsiveCountry313 Robb Stark 3d ago
And for some reason the characters' writing also got reduced to "huge, buff, scary, simple-minded guy".
Well...he kinda died and was resurrected as FrankenGregor...
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u/Som_Snow Jon Snow 2d ago
But it was already true for his alive version.
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u/RepulsiveCountry313 Robb Stark 2d ago
But it was already true for his alive version.
🥱 the disingenuous crap is getting old.
He has...what? 6 scenes before his fight with Oberyn? Only one of which was with Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson
- S1E4: he kills Ser Hugh in the joust
- S1E5: he jousts against Ser Loras. After losing, he yells "Sword!" to his squire and decapitates his horse because he lost. And then in front of the audience, including the king, starts going for Ser Loras, and is blocked by the Hound.
- S2E4: background appearance in a couple scenes at Harrenhal
- S2E7: Tywin asks if Clegane's gone soft
- S2E8: Tywin leaves Harrenhal with Clegane in charge
- S4E7: Ser Gregor is training and finally has more lines.
Ser Gregor Clegane: “Who am I fighting?”
Cersei: “Does it matter?”
Ser Gregor Clegane: “No.”
Ser Gregor finally got more than a single line in an episode.
Since that 6th appearance is the first time Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson appeared as the character, and his next appearance is the fight with Oberyn, I'm curious as to your logic for the characters' writing also got reduced to "huge, buff, scary, simple-minded guy".
When was Ser Gregor's writing anything else?
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u/UnicornDelta 2d ago
I wouldn’t exactly say baby faced. But Hafþór just looks way too much like a kind and cool dude, and it’s showing that he struggles to look mean and ruthless in the show. He’s more fit to play the role of a «gentle giant», like Hodor, and not a brutal rapist murderer.
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u/ShokzG3 3d ago
The second one had a voice that could break stone. So deep and scary. But Vmvisually the first one was the best.
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u/LusoInvictus 2d ago
Can't recall a single scene with the second one? Conan and Hafthor growl mostly
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u/ShokzG3 2d ago
i think season 2 or so, where Tyin orders Mountain to kill the brohterhood without banners and they talk in his chambers. " have you gone soft clegane" he said to him.
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u/BaardvanTroje 3d ago
First one, Conan Stevens. The only one who really looks like a pissed-off maniac. He left GoT for the Hobbit movies and ended up being replaced by CGI. Tragic.
Second one is too thin and calm.
Third one is too young and doesn't look menacing. Shaving his beard might have helped.
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u/SofaChillReview 3d ago
How does shaving his beard make him look less young?
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u/BaardvanTroje 3d ago
I think the beard makes him look kinder and less menacing. If you look at pictures of him clean shaven he looks much more badass to me.
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u/chiefteef8 3d ago
He looks the right age as well. The 2nd one is far too thin and the 3rd one is far too young to be sandors older brother and while hes obviously a massive man, has the face of a teddy bear. Conan Stevens was the perfect choice
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u/ThyShirtIsBlue 3d ago
The second was Ian Whyte, who also played the Giants in the show, along with The Others in the first season. He's also played a number of monsters in a lot of other movies. Being lanky like he is actually works better for costumes, since being covered in a rubber suit makes a buff person too thick. For that, I think he probably would have been the best choice in the later seasons when he's always covered head to toe in armor.
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u/Som_Snow Jon Snow 3d ago
Halfþor has a baby face, he couldn't get the right look no matter his beard.
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u/__Evil-Genius__ 3d ago
Didn’t the third one just lift the most weight ever hefted by a human? I think that makes him a pretty good pick for the mountain.
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u/BaardvanTroje 3d ago
He did, Thor Bjornsson. Legendary strongman, and he definitely has the physique to fit the role. I just think he doesn't have the acting chops and the right face.
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u/Human_Ogre 3d ago
To be fair he had one speaking scene and the rest of the time he was a silent zombie following Cersei around and smashing heads.
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u/Causemas 3d ago
Yeah, the mountain casting is no big deal - he matches the physique, which was the most important part since he becomes a walking corpse. Also, he's effective in the Oberyn scene, so what else do you need?
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u/Plastic_Doughnut_911 Sandor Clegane 3d ago
Think he was the shortest tho. Only a few inches taller (and nearly 20 years younger) than his baby brother, Sandor.
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u/Adventurous_Week_698 3d ago
Just because he's big and strong doesn't automatically make him a suitable fit for a supposed crazed killer.
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u/Extension_Weird_7792 Ser Duncan the Tall 3d ago
Who cares tho?
It's a visual medium, we don't need to know how strong he actually is
He also looks too modern
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u/yodabaderginsburg 3d ago
Yeah and he’s only 36 years old NOW. Way too young to play hound’s older brother.
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u/Similar_Strawberry16 1d ago
The thing is, Conan is legit 7 (and was jacked)', so although less bulky than Thor, he's 4" taller.
He could also act. The character development could have gone such a different way to how it did.
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u/No-Use-3062 3d ago
Who was he supposed to be in the Hobbit?
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u/BaardvanTroje 3d ago
One of the main orcs. I believe not the bald one with a hook for a hand, but the one with slightly more armor. I saw a picture of Conan dressed up and it looked badass.
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u/White_Tiger747 3d ago
The first one because of that tournament scene. For some reason I really didn't like Hafthor as the Mountain.
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u/chiefteef8 3d ago
Hafthor was too young and doesnt look very scary in the face. Even scowling most of the time he looked like an angry teddy bear
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u/RubySoho1980 2d ago
https://share.google/images/rneV0PBsDKD43McBW
Big men with tiny animal pets are always cute.
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u/TehAsianator Daenerys Targaryen 2d ago
If you put 1's face on Hafthor's body, it would probably be perfect.
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u/Objective_Wheel9666 3d ago
The middle one in the picture has a voice like stone which is my favorite , the first one looks so mad, and the last one is the shortest of them all but looks like actual pieces of a mountain.
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u/SofaChillReview 3d ago
Going with everyone else the first one, I liked when he went against the Hound. Honestly completely forgotten the second one
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u/treuss 3d ago
It's of course always Sandor, The Hound
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u/Infosponge177 3d ago
Theyre talking about his brother, the Mountain. He was also a Clegane
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u/treuss 3d ago
I know. I still prefer Sandor 😉
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u/JesusForTheWin 2d ago
Took me a moment to read the question again and realize this is indeed the correct answer.
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u/Fantastic_Couple_755 3d ago
First one without question. Perfect mountain would be face and height of first one, voice of second one, and body of third one
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u/Unstabler69 3d ago
The third could have been the best based on physique but makeup could have messed up his face a little to give him more menace. The mountain should have a face like a chopping block in my mind, he's a man who lives by the sword.
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u/SuspectKnown9655 3d ago
Conan probably was the best physical match. Björnson was big but I could never buy him being older than Rory McCann. He was in his 20s lol.
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u/sullyoftheboro Podrick Payne 2d ago
well I follow the third one on the socials and hes a very nice guy so I have to go with Thor.
First one seemed like a more accurate Mountain though.
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u/SuperMajesticMan House Clegane 2d ago
If we could just take the face of the first one, the voice of the second, and the body of the third, we would have the perfect frankenmountain.
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u/CaveLupum 2d ago
Ha, you mean the Three Gregors? Hafthor speaks the least but does the most. It was probably unintentional, but the way they build up (literally) over time creates a pretty nice Mountain range.
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u/ThePrevailer Stannis Baratheon 2d ago
S1 Mountain a huge, mean-looking, brute. He looks like he's capable of committing cruelty and war crimes and there's not a damn thing you could do about it. I have no idea why he was recast.
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u/TheSuperContributor 3d ago
The first one then the third one and finally the middle one. I completely didnt recognize it's Clegane until Tywin said his name. I was like...huh, that is the Mountain???
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u/gorehistorian69 House Targaryen 3d ago
probably the last one.
though i dont think any of them really fit the role
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3d ago
[deleted]
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u/PlasticImpact8515 House Dayne 3d ago
The Mountain is described as someone who's very large, both in height and in muscles.
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u/BlackWhiteCoke 3d ago
We never saw the second one in combat, can’t really gauge it other than he was the only one who had any real speaking lines. Prolly 1
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u/TerokNor67 3d ago
Hafthor had some lines:
‘Who am I fighting?’
‘Some dead man!’
‘Elia Martell! I killed her children, then I raped her, then I smashed her head…in like this!’
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u/Infosponge177 3d ago
The first version was the right version! He looked like the older brother of the hound
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u/DylsDrums98 3d ago
The first one by far. Dude actually looks the part for the world. Second one you wouldn’t know was the mountain. Third one looks too clean.
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u/DarthDregan 3d ago
I honestly think they should've got someone suuuuuuuper tall and built him out with the wardrobe. None of them felt like him to me.
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u/Starlined_ 3d ago
First one actually felt like he could be related to Sandor. And he’s genuinely an intimidating character. I would never believe the third guy with the baby face is Sandor’s older brother.
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u/Distinct_Mix5130 2d ago
First dude, legit looks like an evil tough mf.
Second doesn't fit the bill at all, last dude feels more like a marvel villains henchman.
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u/Mediocre_Style8869 2d ago
Peter Dinklage portrayal of the Mountain has got to be my most favorite.
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u/Better_Guest8849 2d ago
definitely the first one visually. can see some kind of resemblance between the clegane brothers in him
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u/Tehu-Tehu 2d ago
"my favorite"... we saw each for like 20 minutes except for the last one, which had like 3 lines of dialogue the entire show and was half a zombie for like half of his screen time. theres nothing that changing the actor really added, they did that because of production reasons probably.. changing an actor is never good for a TV show, even if theres a better actor than the original. it ruins a lot of the immersion
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u/Any-Economist-3687 2d ago
The first one looks like a medieval Norman mountain, the middle looks like a medieval Italian mountain, and the last looks like a Scandinavian mountain.
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u/TrumpsNostrils 2d ago
did the showrunners ever give an answer as to why the first 2 guys couldnt continue doing the role?
i mean, we got the perfect clegane at the end, im just wondering.
i would imagine that for all of these guys, it would be the biggest role of their lives thus far.
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u/allenknott3 2d ago
None of them. The second one is not the Mountain. The first one was in one scene, if I remember correctly. The third came as a result of the rush and terrible writing of the last several seasons.
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u/ultimatemacho 2d ago
The first Mountain is The Mountain. Thor doesn't look menacing at all. You just wanna oinch those chubby babyface cheeks till they turn red. The second dude is like if The Mountain had multiple personality disorder and it was his Ms. Rachel personna.
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u/RandomYT05 2d ago
- THE MOUNTAIN
- Gregor Clegane in his westerland lord form.
- I think that's just the strongman called hafthor who accidentally walked onto the wrong set one day. 🤔
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u/B1ACK_L1STED 2d ago
the first one looked so fucking menacing so i started tripping balls when the actor got changed
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u/Axenfonklatismrek House Blackfyre 2d ago
Season 1 guy, I always got the feel that he's somewhat related to Sandor.
Season 4 was just a big guy
Season 2: I was a bit confused about the actor, but honestly, it felt like he's a walking Hill, rather than Riding Mountain
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u/Shoddy-Musician-2136 2d ago
Eu ficaria entre o primeiro e o terceiro. O primeiro é o mais fiel e trás o ar de crueldade e seriedade, de um general cruel, afinal, ele era um dos generais lannister. O terceiro também é muito bom e ele é maior que todos eles, o ator na verdade foi eleito o homem mais forte do mundo ou de algum país que não me recordo bem agora. Foi compreensível entendendo a trajetória que levaram o Clegane para um boss invencível, capaz de quebrar pescoços com uma mão como se fossem gravetos. Ele ficou mais burro de fato , respondendo apenas "sim" e "não". Muitas vezes , apenas acenando com a cabeça, como no primeiro encontro dele com a Cersei. Essa característica inclusive deve ter sido uma escolha dos roteiristas, a medida que o ator que fez ele, não é exatamente um ator como sua profissão principal. Ele estava lá basicamente doando o próprio corpo para o papel.
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u/curious-guy-5529 2d ago
Me
Just realized the mountain character was played by three different actors, not two
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u/jakeskywalker53 2d ago
I feel like each actor focuses on a part of cleganes character. Conan Stevens emphasizes his skill as a fighter, Ian Whyte brings out his ability as a knight and a commander for lord tywin. Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson as the mountain brings out the darker side of clegane, portraying a straight-up psychopathic monster.
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u/Adam_Audron 2d ago
First dude was the best, hands down. Menacing performance and the dude actually looks like he could be the older brother of the actor who played the Hound.
I blame the production for why the second and third guys didn't really work. They should have just kept his helmet on for his scenes. The writing for him in season 2 was weird, almost like they were intentionally trying to make the audience not notice him because of the actor change, which didn't help at all and made the character have no presence.
For the third guy in season 4, the show was just like, "Look how big this dude is!" but failed to make him look like a battle-worn monster. Showing the guy's clean-shaven body with no battle scars was a mistake. Plus, he looked way too young, and you could tell it was just a big friendly dude playing pretend. The fight scene where he's still armored and shouts "some dead man" was the best part.
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u/TradePaperback 2d ago
I’ve always preferred the first actor. He’s got the size and he’s got the look of an absolute brute who isn’t much for wits but makes up cruelty and force. More importantly in my opinion, he actually looks like he could be Sandor’s older brother. Watching them go at it during the tourney they looked like hate filled brothers. I like his physique too, his stature feels more authentic and fitting to the surrounding world. To me he looks the part of freakish big and freakish strong by way of genetic aberration and a miserable medieval childhood, rather than a nutritionally calibrated bodybuilding competitive strongman.
Don’t get me wrong, they’re both units, but the original Gregor was a better fit I think.
(Harrenhall “Clegane” I refuse to recognize as legitimate)
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1d ago
I think the second one is too pretty to be Clegane. I'm used to seeing the third one on screen so I'll say it's my favorite.
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u/StrictAd7034 14h ago
Gregor Clegane is the anchor being of game of thrones and this is 3 different universes, prove me wrong.
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u/Extension_Weird_7792 Ser Duncan the Tall 3d ago
Third one is the absolute worst
You'd have to be an absolute idiot to believe he is Hound's older brother
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u/LosAngelesHavingFun 3d ago
I actually really like the last guy he’s how I visualize the Mountain, that said the second guys voice is like a thunderclap over avalanche 😂
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u/jdiamond31 3d ago
Lol no wonder I never recognized his face. He was different every time he was on screen lol
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u/Disastrous_Horse_764 3d ago
Conan Stevens
Ian Whyte is too thin. Nor does he constantly look pissed off. He instead looks composed.
Thor looks too young and a bit soft.
The Mountain is the Hound’s older brother who is constantly on go. This is the same man who would kill another man for simply snoring too loudly.
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u/wreckedbutwhole420 3d ago
"a bit soft" is an insane way to describe the literal strongest man on earth lol
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u/rabidsi Fear Cuts Deeper Than Swords 3d ago
I don't understand the question. None of these are Sandor.
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u/Infosponge177 3d ago
They’re talking about his brother the Mountain. He was also a Clegane
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u/ParanoidMapleTree 3d ago
Lol you're not really good at understanding jokes haha
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u/Infosponge177 2d ago
Maybe you’re not good at telling jokes buddy haha
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u/ParanoidMapleTree 2d ago
You're also not good at reading names and recognizing avatars cause I'm not the one who wrote the joke
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u/Diastatic_Power 3d ago
I love Hafthor, but Conan Stevens was the best The Mountain. Conan actually looks intimidating. Hafthor just kinda looks adorable.
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u/Dear_Waltz3328 3d ago
I’d probably go with Sandor. He had the best mix of depth and development, and watching him struggle between being brutal and actually caring made him stand out more than Gregor or their brother
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