I don’t think I’ve ever written about Jack Gleeson, the young Irish actor who plays King Joffrey on Game of Thrones. It’s not that I don’t have thoughts about King Joffrey, or that Jack isn’t killing it as Joffrey. It’s just that when I choose to write about GoT, I usually focus on Kit Harington or Arya or Peter Dinklage or The Khaleesi or how much I hated Kaitlyn. So, let me say this – I want King Joffrey to die a horrible death. I hope it’s okay to say that about a character. I want him to be tortured and to die a horrific death. He’s a little psycho and he’s got it coming. Now, I’ve read several interviews with other GoT actors where they say that Jack Gleeson, out of character, is a total sweetheart. Apparently, he’s just a great young actor and before today, I had no idea he has such a lovely Irish accent.
Anyway, Jack appeared on an Irish talk show over the weekend and he was asked point-blank if Joffrey dies in Season 4. So… SPOILERS. Even though he doesn’t confirm anything, I do think he’s giving a significant hint.
During the interview, Jack also said that he’s not going to continue acting after Game of Thrones is over. He just returned to Ireland after traveling to Haiti with aid agency Goal, and I guess he wants to spend the rest of his life doing more important work. He said:
“[Acting] was always a recreation beforehand, but when I started doing Game of Thrones perhaps the reality was made too real for me. The lifestyle that comes with being an actor in a successful TV show isn’t something I gravitate towards. I don’t tend to [watch myself]. It’s bizarre when you see clips. You tend to abstract yourself from the creepiness of it when you’re playing it, but when you see it on television it sends shivers down my spine. I would like to try and defend him, but I would have a pretty hard job doing it. I suppose he’s the product of his context and his family. In terms of redeemable qualities, there wouldn’t be many.”
Gleeson, who was 17 when he auditioned for the role, said he has been able to live a normal life as a student in Trinity, where he is reading philosophy and theology.
“Since going to Trinity and garnering an interest in philosophy and with Goal and my theatre company I’ve kind of just re-evaluated what I want to do,” he said. “I’m 21, so it’s hard to decide what kind of course life will take.”
Gleeson’s time in Haiti was spent looking at projects for impoverished people. An earthquake hit Haiti in 2010, killing more than 230,000 people and leaving 1.5 million homeless.
“I’d been looking to use the celebrity I’ve got from the show to bring awareness for causes Goal supports,” he said. “I had the connection with the organisation through my uncle, Tim Gleeson, and he worked with Goal in the 1980s. 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.
It’s nice that he has a social conscience and that he’s prioritized his education and doing smaller theater work. And he’s right, the life of a working actor on a successful TV show isn’t for everyone, especially when his fame came so early and when he didn’t really know if this was what he wanted to do with the rest of his life. That being said, I do wonder if Hollywood is really breaking down his door, offering him role after role. He’s perfect as Joffrey, but that doesn’t translate into more job offers. Anyway, I’m not worried about him. He’ll figure it out. And SPOILER I would love it if Joffrey dies this season.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
