A resurfaced clip of “Game of Thrones” star Jack Gleeson opening up about why he stepped away from acting for a while is making the rounds online. The footage has sparked conversations about how convincingly the actor blurred the line between his TV character and real-life personality.
Rumors had long circulated that the “GoT” star took time away from the screen because of backlash and bad reviews tied to his portrayal of Joffrey Baratheon in the hit HBO series.
Gleeson famously announced in 2014 that he was “retiring” from acting following the on-screen death of his character.
Gleeson set the record straight about the myths that have followed his acting career since he largely disappeared from screens.
In a resurfaced clip that has since gone viral online, the 33-year-old Irish actor looked noticeably different, swapping his signature blonde hair for brown locks and sporting a matching mustache.
After portraying what many still consider one of television’s most hated characters, Gleeson announced his “retirement” from acting. Critics speculated that the decision was fueled by the backlash that followed his role on the hit HBO series.
At the time, he only made brief appearances in small independent films and a handful of TV episodes before eventually returning to the screen in Netflix’s crime series, “House of Guinness.”
Gleeson Addresses Myth About His Acting Career
In the viral X video, Gleeson addressed the speculation that has followed his acting career for years as the host asked him to “put an end” to the rumors “once and for all.”
“Well, I can say, thankfully, it wasn’t because I received any sort of abuse from anybody,” Gleeson said, during the premiere of “House of Guinness.”
“I know that can happen … I don’t know, it can happen. People confuse the character with the actor,” he added, referring to his much-hated portrayal of Joffrey.
Jack Gleeson Revealed What He’s Been Up To
Elsewhere in the conversation, the “Reign of Fire” actor opened up about what he had been doing during the years fans rarely saw him on screen.
According to 7 News, Gleeson considered returning to school at Trinity College Dublin before eventually co-founding the Collapsing Horse Theatre Company with friends during his acting hiatus.
“After ‘Game of Thrones,’ or even during, I was continuing to act,” he explained. “But it was more just with a theatre company I had set up with some friends in Dublin.”
“And I don’t know, I was just more into that at that time,” he continued. “But then I started to miss screen acting, and I got back into it… It’s just where I was at that time.”
Gleeson Fans React To His Shocking Transformation
Internet users have flooded the comment section of the trending video to react to Gleeson’s remarks.
“I honestly thought maybe he had received too many bad reviews from playing Joffrey,” one X user wrote.
“He was likely getting a lot of sh-t online, but I met him over a decade ago in Brussels in front of a theatre, so he is definitely telling the truth,” another person shared. “Super humble and approachable guy, much the contrary of who he portrayed in ‘Game of Thrones’ lol.”
One fan was also stunned by the actor’s new appearance, writing, “Wow, Joffrey with a mustache is crazy. He’s actually one of the sweetest people. I saw a video where he was a guest in a college class answering questions for the students. Very chill dude.”
Jack Gleeson Said He Simply Stopped Enjoying Acting
In a 2021 interview with Entertainment Weekly, Gleeson explained that his passion for acting had simply faded over time, which ultimately led him to step away from the profession at just 21 years old.
“The answer isn’t interesting or long-winded. I’ve been acting since age 8. I just stopped enjoying it as much as I used to,” Gleeson shared at the time. “Now there’s the prospect of doing it for a living, whereas up until now it was always something I did for recreation with my friends, or in the summer for some fun. I enjoyed it.”
“When you make a living from something, it changes your relationship with it,” he continued. “It’s not like I hate it, it’s just not what I want to do.”
