“Hey, they were in Game of Thrones”—Where else have you seen these 55 GoT cast members? (Part 2)

32) JACK GLEESON

Wow, did we love to hate the frail, nasty and depraved Joffrey Baratheon! Irish (former) actor Jack Gleeson served this character up to us with all kinds of surly glee, but at the end, he proved he had the talent to let us glimpse the frightened boy inside the monster as he lay dying in his mother’s arms.

Gleeson famously left the acting life behind in 2014, and he hasn’t appeared in TV or film since. In an interview with Hollywood Life, Gleeson explained why he bailed on stardom just as Game of Thrones opened big doors for him in Hollywood:

"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. And 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. It’s not like I hate it, it’s just not what I want to do."

What was Gleeson’s first acting gig at age 8? He had an uncredited part as a Kid in Reign of Fire in 2002. His other movie roles include Batman Begins (2005, above), Shrooms (2007), A Shine of Rainbows (2009, below) and All Good Children (2010). On TV, he did a stint on the series Killinaskully (2006-2008).

We’ll all remember Gleeson for his famous death scene on Thrones. He discussed it in detail with Hollywood Life:

"It’s relieving, in a way. 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. It’s calming to know I’m in the great hands of [director] Alex Graves."

We wish Gleeson the best of luck in his future endeavors.