'The Mountain' hits with Phillies
Maikel Franco will make his debut as the Phillies starting third baseman on Friday. Before the game, "The Mountain" from HBO's Game of Thrones took batting practice and stretched with the Phillies.
Since Ellen Gray, the Daily News' terrific television critic, is gone for the weekend, I handled an interview today with one of the stars from arguably one of the top scenes from the small screen within the last 12 months.
Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson, the Icelandic actor who goes by "Thor," is in town this weekend. He will be performing in the Philadelphia Renaissance Faire's "Preview Weekend" on Saturday and Sunday as King Thor of Laxarda.
But "Thor," outfitted in a size 60, No.13 Phillies jersey during pregame batting practice at Citizens Bank Park, is more known for playing the character Gregor "The Mountain" Clegane on HBO's smash hit, "Game of Thrones."
Spoiler alert: The Mountain, a fitting name for a character played by an actor listed at 6-9 and just over 400 pounds, took part in a gruesome death scene in Season 4. As you can probably imagine, it was not his character who perished in the scene.
After grabbing a cheesesteak at Jim's on South, Björnsson, who had never played baseball before, took some soft-toss swings with Phillies hitting coach Steve Henderson and then stepped into the dugout and met the media.
Q: How often do you get asked to gauge out someone's eyes?
The Mountain: "Every day."
Q: Cool to be a part of one of the more memorable scenes on a popular show?
The Mountain: "You know, it was very good, because the fight was very successful. It came out good, so I was quite happy."
Q: Are you coming back on the show? Inquiring minds - with eyeballs intact - want to know.
The Mountain: "It's something people will have to wait and see."
Q: How did the baseball go?
The Mountain: "It's hard."
Q: Harder than you thought hitting a baseball?
The Mountain: "Definitely. I want to get the ball high in the air, not just in the ground."
Q: Were you up there thinking home run?
The Mountain: "Not the first time. I think you have to have a lot of practice. You have to train a lot. A lot of dedication."
Q: Ever play sports?
The Mountain: "I played basketball when I was younger. It's nice to try. I love to try new things. It's a lot of fun."
By the way, the Phillies say they've never had to make a jersey bigger than the size 60 he wore Friday. Former NFL players Grant Winstrom and Warren Sapp were once outfitted with size 58 Phillies jerseys.
