Game of Thrones’ The Mountain accuses HBO of lying about letting him keep $30K sword

HBO allegedly told The Mountain from Game of Thrones, Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson, he could keep the $30,000 sword used throughout filming. The mountain of a man never did receive the sword, however, and it was recently up for auction.

35-year-old Iceland native Björnsson is largely considered one of the strongest humans to ever live. Setting records left and right, he’s actively competed as a strength athlete for over 10 years and has been inducted into the International Sports Hall of Fame for his efforts.

A natural fit for the larger-than-life character of The Mountain of Game of Thrones, Björnsson made an instant impact in HBO’s hit series. The character was responsible for more than a few bloody kills, many of which came from his equally enormous blade.

As it turns out, Björnsson claims he was owed the massive two-handed sword as a thank-you for his work on the show. Spilling the beans during an October 16 Twitch stream, he was shocked to see it recently sold for just shy of $30,000 at an online auction.

While grinding some Overwatch 2 with his friends, Björnsson recounted his experience filming the final season of GoT, during which producers allegedly said he could hold onto the prop.

“When I filmed Game of Thrones, they specifically told me that I could keep the sword,” he said. “But then afterward, they didn’t allow me to keep it, and now they’ve sold it. Basically, the guy that bought it owes me the f***ing sword.”

“I was pissed,” he added, expressing frustration at seeing the listing after being told years back that the sword was his to keep. Taking the sword home was meant to be a gesture of goodwill from the showrunners, Björnsson claimed, given he wasn’t too chummy on the set of the final season.

“I remember specifically, they had to cut my beard, then I couldn’t eat properly on set because I had fake teeth,” he explained. “I lost like 15-20kgs in a week of filming,” he added, which, as a lifelong strongman, can be utterly devastating.

“I was so grumpy the last season. I remember they were pissed at me for being an a**hole, I was not in a good mood. Imagine me not being able to eat, working crazy hours…”

So as compensation beyond his financial gain, he was supposedly told off-handedly he could keep the sword, though nothing was ever signed to make it official.

The prop was used across a number of GoT’s most iconic moments, including the fight between The Mountain and Oberyn Martell (Pedro Pascal).

The most recent auction closed on October 11, 2024, with the item now valued at roughly $29,688 USD.