Joffrey Baratheon was one of the most memorable characters from Game of Thrones, a vain boy king drunk on power who was happy to lob off heads at will. He left an impression on fans, who to this day go up to actor Jack Gleeson to quote some of their favorite lines. Speaking at the Game of Thrones Official Fan Convention, Gleeson said that “I’m not tired!”, “Kneel before your king,” and “Bring me his head” were some of the ones he hears most.
“Thankfully, I’ve never had any negative fan experiences or anything,” Gleeson clarified, per Entertainment Weekly. “There’s still a chance, if anybody wants to throw a punch.”
"A lot of people come up to me because I guess this rumour started that people were horrible to me on the street or I get attacked… whereas I’ve never had one negative experience. I feel like people are extra nice to me because they think people attack me, so maybe I should keep the rumor going."
It’s good to hear that fans never made the mistake of mixing up Gleeson with his character. That said, even though “”every interaction was perfectly lovely and perfectly nice,” fame did have its downsides. “While I was filming Game of Thrones, I was also in university in Dublin and even though since I was a kid all I wanted to be was a celebrity, when I became famous, I then realized… whenever I go to a pub all of my friends then just have to become photographers because people give them their phone and then their night is ruined.”
Joffrey I and Aegon II pic.twitter.com/3YUCBZaCBg
— Winter is Coming (@WiCnet) December 12, 2022
Jack Gleeson (King Joffrey) has never watched Game of Thrones
Since the end of Game of Thrones, Gleeson has mostly avoided high profile screen roles, so it seems like this message about the downside of fame stuck. “It’s funny because it still is such a large part of my life, but it’s strange to think that 2014 was the last year I appeared in the show,” he said. “It’s eight years, almost nine years ago. I feel like an old man now. Old and wise.”
But even though the show is still a part of his life, he’s never actually watched it, at first because he didn’t like watching himself onscreen, and later because he didn’t want to break his streak. “There was something about it where I was just like, ‘No, I’ll just leave it.'”
Gleeson does know, however, that his friends “were mostly disappointed” by the final season. “Everyone’s entitled to their opinion, but I don’t have one personally,” he said. “That’s not a political answer. I just didn’t watch it.”
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