A resurfaced clip of “Game of Thrones” star Jack Gleeson opening up about why he stepped away from acting for some time is making the rounds online. The footage has sparked conversations about how convincingly the actor blurred the road between his TV character and real-life personality.
Rumors had long circulated that the “GoT” star took time away from the screen due to backlash and bad reviews tied to his portrayal of Joffrey Baratheon within 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 concerning the myths which have followed his acting profession 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 an identical mustache.
After portraying what many still consider considered one of television’s most hated characters, Gleeson announced his “retirement” from acting. Critics speculated that the choice was fueled by the backlash that followed his role on the hit HBO series.
On the time, he only made temporary appearances in small independent movies 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 Profession
Within the viral X video, Gleeson addressed the speculation that has followed his acting profession for years because 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 form of abuse from anybody,” Gleeson said, through the premiere of “House of Guinness.”
“I do know that may occur … I don’t know, it might probably occur. 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 within the conversation, the “Reign of Fire” actor opened up about what he had been doing through the years fans rarely saw him on screen.
Based on 7 News, Gleeson considered returning to high school at Trinity College Dublin before eventually co-founding the Collapsing Horse Theatre Company with friends during his acting hiatus.
“After ‘Game of Thrones,’ and even during, I used to be continuing to act,” he explained. “But it surely was more just with a theatre company I had arrange with some friends in Dublin.”
“And I don’t know, I used to be just more into that at the moment,” he continued. “But then I began to miss screen acting, and I got back into it… It’s just where I used to be at the moment.”
Gleeson Fans React To His Shocking Transformation
Web users have flooded the comment section of the trending video to react to Gleeson’s remarks.
“I truthfully thought perhaps he had received too many bad reviews from playing Joffrey,” one X user wrote.
“He was likely getting a number of sh-t online, but I met him over a decade ago in Brussels in front of a theatre, so he is certainly telling the reality,” one other 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 recent appearance, writing, “Wow, Joffrey with a mustache is crazy. He’s actually considered one of the sweetest people. I saw a video where he was a guest in a university class answering questions for the scholars. Very chill dude.”
Jack Gleeson Said He Simply Stopped Having fun with 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 occupation at just 21 years old.
“The reply isn’t interesting or long-winded. I’ve been acting since age 8. I just stopped having fun with it as much as I used to,” Gleeson shared on the time. “Now there’s the prospect of doing it for a living, whereas up until now it was all the time something I did for recreation with my friends, or in the summertime for some fun. I enjoyed it.”
“While 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 need to do.”