Jack Gleeson, best known for playing the infamous King Joffrey Baratheon in HBO’s Game of Thrones, has finally shut down the long-standing rumor that he quit acting due to the hatred his character received from fans.
The Truth Behind His Break From Acting
After his iconic role as Joffrey, Gleeson stepped away from screen acting in 2014 at just 21 years old. Many fans speculated that the overwhelming negativity toward his villainous character had driven him out of Hollywood.
However, in a new interview at the premiere of Steven Knight’s series House of Guinness, Gleeson clarified the truth:
“Thankfully, I didn’t take a break because of any bad treatment. I know those things can happen, and sometimes people confuse the character with the actor. But after Game of Thrones—and even during it—I continued acting, mostly in Dublin with my friends in a theater company. At the time, I was simply more interested in theater.”
“It Wasn’t About Hate, It Was About Choice”
Gleeson has been acting since the age of eight. In an earlier 2014 interview with Entertainment Weekly, he explained his decision:
“I just wasn’t enjoying it the same way anymore. It had always been something I did with friends, for fun. When something becomes your livelihood, your relationship with it changes. It wasn’t that I hated it—it just wasn’t what I wanted to do then.”
During his break from TV, Gleeson studied at Trinity College Dublin and co-founded the Collapsing Horse Theatre Company, where he explored storytelling on his own terms.
Return to Screen Acting
Now, Gleeson has returned to television, appearing in projects like Sex Education and Netflix’s newly released House of Guinness. Reflecting on his comeback, he said:
“I started to miss screen acting, so I came back. At the time, stepping away just felt like the right decision.”
House of Guinness on Netflix
House of Guinness, which premiered on September 25, is set in 19th-century Dublin and New York, telling the story of the legendary Guinness family. Alongside Gleeson, the cast includes Anthony Boyle, Louis Partridge, Emily Fairn, Fionn O’Shea, and James Norton.
