Langford’s Island FanCon has scored a star guest whose towering presence may blow the minds of Game of Thrones fans attending the Comic-Con-like event.
Hafthor Julius Bjornsson will appear on both days of the April 13 to 14 convention at City Centre Park, where he’ll meet with fans, sign autographs and speak at a panel.
The 6’9” Icelandic strongman is best known for his portrayal of Gregor ‘The Mountain’ Clegane in HBO’s hit series Game of Thrones, where he grabbed the eyes of viewers while starring in major scenes alongside stars like Pedro Pascal.
“We wanted our first guest announcement to be big,” Island FanCon founder Lonnie Eckardt said in a news release. “It doesn’t get much bigger than Hafþor Julius Bjornsson.”
A fan-favourite during Game of Thrones’ run – contingent on which Westeros house viewers cheered for – Bjornsson rose to fame thanks to his performances as a professional strongman.
He’s the 2018 World’s Strongest Man, a two-time Arnold Strongman Classic winner and a multiple world record holder.
In 2015, the Nordic native also beat a record that’s said to be 1,000 years old when he carried a 10-metre, 1,430-pound log for five steps at the World’s Strongest Viking competition.
Those Viking roots also overlap with the Langford event sponsor who picked Bjornsson from a list of options.
“Viking Sales is thrilled to bring a real-life Nordic Viking to the Westshore,” the sponsor said in the release. “We definitely delivered for the inaugural year of Island Fancon!”
Organizers say the convention will be an unforgettable experience for all ages and more guest announcements are still to come.