Jack Gleeson, the young Irish actor internationally known as the sociopathic King Joffrey on HBO’s Game of Thrones, doesn’t plan on pursuing any more high-profile roles when his time on the hit fantasy series comes to an end.
During a recent interview with the Irish Independent newspaper, Gleeson said, “It was always a recreation beforehand, but when I started doing Game of Thrones perhaps the reality was made too real for me.”
It probably doesn’t help that Gleeson’s character is a murderous, hateful monster who’s become one of the most reviled TV characters in recent memory. That probably doesn’t lead to a lot of adoring fans telling him how much they love him at the supermarket.
“The lifestyle that comes with being an actor in a successful TV show isn’t something I gravitate toward,” he said.
Instead, Gleeson is planning to put his efforts toward some very un-Joffrey-like activities, including working for a charity aid organisation in Haiti, a place he recently returned from visiting.
“I’d been looking to use the celebrity I’ve got from the show to bring awareness for causes [the aid organisation] Goal supports,” Gleeson said. “I had the connection with the organisation through my uncle, Tim Gleeson, and he worked with Goal in the 1980s.”
Filming for the fourth season of Game of Thrones just wrapped last week. It’s based on the second half of A Clash of Kings, the third book in George R.R. Martin’s bestselling fantasy series. Among the Joffrey-centric story lines in the upcoming season is his highly anticipated wedding to Margaery Tyrell.
