The four-time World’s Strongest Man (WSM) Žydrūnas Savickas is officially an actor. The Lithuanian landed the role of Abdullah Shafak in episode one of season two of the television drama series Gangs of London. According to the Internet Movie Database (IMDB), the show “tells the story of London being torn apart by the turbulent power struggles of its international gangs and the sudden power vacuum created when the head of London’s most powerful crime family is assassinated.”
Savickas is only listed as part of the cast for one episode, and it’s his first role as a scripted character. He previously appeared as himself in the 2015 film Chasing Solace and the 2020 TV series Kaukės. Check out a quick combat scene featuring Savickas and actor Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù from Gangs of London in a video from Savickas’s Instagram page below:
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I took part in the filming of the second season of Gangs of London.
Savickas is regarded as one of the greatest strongmen in the sport’s history. His four WSM titles are tied for second-most all-time with Brian Shaw, Magnus ver Magnusson, and Jón Páll Sigmarsson. Only Mariusz Pudzianowski of Poland has five WSM wins.
Savickas’s trophy room is filled with hundreds of awards he earned over a career that spans back to the mid-’90s. Among them are eight Arnold Strongman Classic titles (2003-08, 2014, 2016). In addition to his four WSM titles, he also has six WSM runner-up finishes (2002-04, 2011, 2013, 2015) and a staggering 36 Strongman Champions League (SCL) victories.
At age 47, Savickas is not posting any more elite competition victories, but he still competes among the best in the sport. He even recently posted a 10th-place finish at the 2022 Shaw Classic. As a former winner of the WSM, Savickas has a lifetime invitation to compete on strongman’s grandest stage any year he chooses.
The premiere of season 2 of Gangs of London will air on Nov. 17, 2022, on Sky and NOW.
Featured image: @savickas_bigz on Instagram
