It’s fair to say the death of King Joffrey Baratheon (played by Jack Gleeson) in season four of Game of Thrones wasn’t exactly met with a lot of tears shed from fans. Over the course of three years, Gleeson’s portrayal of Joffrey had cemented him as one of the most vilified and evil characters on television. In the years after his death, however, actor Gleeson has decided to quit acting altogether and explained his reasons why.
Why did Jack Gleeson quit acting after Game of Thrones?
Season four, episode three, titled Break of Chains remains Gleeson’s last-ever acting role.
In the episode which aired on HBO and Sky Atlantic in 2014, his character Joffrey was poisoned and killed at his wedding to Margaery Tyrell (Natalie Dormer).
Gleeson admitted shooting his final scene was “tough” but revealed it was “relieving”.
He discussed Joffrey’s death and the reasons for leaving acting altogether with Entertainment Weekly
The GOT star said: “You want to do the scene and character justice. It’s a complicated scene; I’ve never had a death on screen before. You want it to look believable — the choking and the coughing.
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Gleeson’s stuck by his word and kept his life out of the limelight.
As mentioned before, he’s not taken up another on-screen acting role since the Golden Globe-winning series.
He hasn’t completely forgotten about his Game of Thrones stint or the love from fans that comes with it.
In the years after Joffrey’s death, Gleeson has surprised GOT fans at a handful of fan conventions.
He posed for photos at Dallas Fan Expo, Supernova Pop Culture Expo in Melbourne and RingCon in Germany to name a few.
Gleeson did attend the Game of Thrones season eight premiere in New York this year to reunite with his former castmates.
The 27-year-old also avoids social media in order to keep his day-to-day life out of the spotlight.
Game of Thrones seasons 1-8 are available to buy on Amazon Prime now.
