Actor Jack Gleeson recently spoke with EW about Sunday's "Purple Wedding" episode of Game of Thrones, and also talked about playing Joffrey on HBO's hit show. Obviously there are going to be a few spoilers, so if you haven't seen the latest episode (or have it ruined by someone on Facebook) yet, you definitely do not want to read any of Gleeson's comments below. If you read something you didn't want to know it'll be your fault, not mine. I'll meet you after the spoiler buffer below.
So as most of you already know, Jack Gleeson's Joffrey was killed in Sunday's episode of Game of Thrones. We've been waiting since pretty much the first episode of the series for the evil son of a bitch to get his, and many people were celebrating on Sunday when he finally died.
Gleeson starts by talking about filming his death scene.
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. It was tough. I suppose it’s one of those things that you have no prior experience in. I’ve never seen anyone die. It’s hard to imagine what it would be like. But Alex very kindly walked me through it. It was fun in the end, but kind of stressful to be so focused, but acting like you’re completely unfocused. Difficult, but exciting.
Jack Gleeson goes on to say he knew his character was going to die soon.
I knew from Day 1. When I got the part, I read the first book. And before that, I Googled the character summaries. I knew it was coming. I would have been surprised if it didn’t come in season 4. I was just like, whatever.
Although most are happy Joffrey is finally dead, Jack Gleeson thinks there are some fans who will miss the character.
I think it will be 50-50. There will be a delight that the person tormenting their favorite characters is gone, but I would like to think there’s a certain sadness at the loss of the delight people take in hating a character like Joffrey.
Gleeson also says although Joffrey does some horrible things, he never felt uncomfortable performing them for the show.
No, I don’t think so. Oh, certainly the obvious answer — the two prostitutes and forcing one of them to beat and kill the other one. But I don’t remember it being awkward or uncomfortable to film.
Jack Glesson then confirms he is retiring from acting, and wants to finish college.
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. It was just fun. To be able to not be yourself for five minutes, half-an-hour, all day. I wouldn’t say it’s therapeutic, but it’s fun to think somebody else’s thoughts, especially a character like Joffrey. It’s a nice relief to day-to-day life. I have one year left in college. After that, I might do a post-graduate of some kind, but I don’t know in what.
I respect Jack Gleeson's decision to leave acting, but it's also a shame because he's done such great work as Joffrey, and I would love to see him in other projects. But hey, maybe he'll want to act again after taking a break for a bit.
You can also check out Jack Gleeson's goodbye video to fans of the show below, as well as some "Purple Wedding" reactions from a few of Gleeson's Game of Thrones co-stars.