There’s no debating the fact that Joffrey Baratheon from Game of Thrones is one of the most hated TV characters of all time. You know you smiled a little bit when he finally met his demise in Season 4, but did the audience’s hatred for the character impact Jack Gleeson, the actor who played him?
For years, online rumors have suggested that Jack had to retire from acting because people hated Joffrey so much, but at this point, it’s been over ten years since Joffrey choked on that poison. So, Jack finally set the record straight in a new interview, and his answer about the Joffrey theories was pretty surprising.
Jack Gleeson sets the record straight on rumors he quit acting after playing Joffrey in Game of Thrones
Jack currently stars in Netflix’s House of Guinness, a historical drama about the family behind the beer company. At the premiere, an interviewer asked Jack about his hiatus from TV. Did it actually have anything to do with Joffrey? Jack finally set the record straight, and it turns out there’s no truth to those rumors.
“I can say thankfully, it wasn’t because I received any sort of abuse from anybody,” Jack said. “Thankfully, I know that can happen, sadly. People confuse the character with the actor.”
According to Jack, he never really took a “hiatus” from acting. He was just focused on stage acting instead of chasing another on-screen role.
He explained, “After Game of Thrones, I was continuing to act, but it was more just with a theater company I had set up with some friends in Dublin. I don’t know, I was just more into that at that time, but then I started to miss screen acting, and I got back into it.”
Nothing scandalous here! Jack isn’t actually being haunted by his dreadful Game of Thrones role. He’s just an actor exploring his craft at his own pace.
In addition to House of Guinness, you can catch Jack in Safe Harbor and Season 2 of The Sandman. He also starred in the 2023 action film In the Land of Saints and Sinners. He’s booked and busy.
TELL US – ARE YOU GLAD TO SEE JACK BACK ON SCREEN? ARE THERE ANY OTHER ACTORS WHO MIGHT BE HAUNTED BY THEIR PAST ROLES?
