Four years of playing the violent, sadistic and murderous child king Joffrey Baratheon would be enough for anyone.
Jack Gleeson, the 21-year-old Irish actor most well known for playing the shrieky little bastard son of a pair of siblings has told Irish TV network RTE-One that he may retire from professional acting after he is done and dusted with the highly acclaimed medieval drama series – most likely after suffering an horrifically violent and blood-soaked removal from the Throne upon which he now sits.
“Since going to Trinity (College) and garnering an interest in philosophy and with… my theatre company I’ve kind of just re-evaluated what I want to do.” Gleeson explained. “The lifestyle that comes with being an actor in a successful TV show isn’t something I gravitate towards. It was always a recreation beforehand, but when I started doing Game of Thrones perhaps the reality was made too real for me.”
Gleeson also has a charitable streak not readily (and by “not readily” we mean so obviously not at all) apparent in King Joffrey, having just completed a stint of humanitarian work in Haiti with Goal, an Irish aid agency. “I’d been looking to use the celebrity I’ve got from the show to bring awareness for causes Goal supports. It was inspiring to see the improvements being made in Haiti, to see the motivation of the people to improve the quality of life. People are eager to get on with their lives and be resilient.”
Good to see Gleeson is nothing like the hateable little asshole we love to yell at on TV.
