Game of Thrones star Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson astounded everyone with his brute strength when he broke this iconic record.
The Icelandic actor, who played Cersei’s terrifying bodyguard The Mountain in the HBO epic, lifted 501 kg (1,104.5 lb) to achieve the heaviest deadlift.
Hafþór, 34, performed the record-breaking feat at Thor's Power Gym in Kópavogur, Iceland, back in 2020.
He left the previous record in the dust.
Andy Bolton (UK) had deadlifted 455 kg (1,003 lb) at the WPO Semi-Finals in 2006, and his record went unbroken until Hafþór came along.
Hafþór’s lift was even heavier than the heaviest Strongman deadlift performed by Eddie Hall (UK) at the World Deadlift Championships in 2016.
Although, Eddie’s 500 kg (1,102 lb 4.9 oz) lift retains its title in that separate competitive category.
Hafþór’s incredible record was captured on film by gym equipment company Rogue Fitness.
In the clip, the actor, who goes by the very fitting nickname Thor, prepares by wiping chalk on his hands and sniffing from a small bottle of ammonia, something weightlifters do to help them lift more weight by causing a reaction in the membranes of the nose and lungs.
Psyching him up, a pal grabbed on to the sides of his face and they screamed at each other a few times to get the blood pumping.
Thor stepped up behind the weight and did a few stretches before getting into position, bending down to wrap straps on his wrists around the bar.
With a screaming crowd cheering him on, the strongman lifted the mammoth weight off the floor.
The weight was so extreme that the bar curved dramatically as he stood up straight to perform his deadlift.
He held the weight up for a few seconds before dropping it back down to the floor and celebrating with a cheer.
Underneath the YouTube video, fans commented on how “easy” he made it look and how they feel he could lift even more weight.
Hafþór is a true legend in the strongman community. He’s the first and only person to have won the Arnold Strongman Classic, Europe’s Strongest Man and the World’s Strongest Man in the same year.
It was in Game of Thrones that he made his acting debut, but he’s since appeared in a string of films, including most recently, The Northman, in which he portrayed Thorfinnr alongside Alexander Skarsgård and Nicole Kidman.
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