Game Of Thrones: Why Joffrey Actor Jack Gleeson Took A Break From Acting

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Many Game of Thrones characters have become iconic, and Jack Gleeson's Joffrey Baratheon is at the top of that list. Gleeson's portrayal of the petulant king earned him widespread acclaim, but he's recently revealed that the role was more draining than fans might have thought.

Game of Thrones was arguably a master at portraying some truly heinous villains. While the series reveled in gray morality most of the time — even Kit Harington's Jon Snow had some morally ambiguous moments — there were a few truly irredeemable characters. King Joffrey was one of these characters; uncaring for the plight of others, while also being incredibly cruel and power-hungry, yet sniveling at the same time, the character was practically designed to be one that audiences love to hate.

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While giving a speech to a class at University College Dublin (via Unilad), Gleeson revealed that the role made him reconsider whether acting was his calling. “It really come down to just not deriving as much enjoyment as I did from acting as I used to,” Gleeson said. “For some reason, I don’t know it became a bit kind of mechanical and less kind of passionate when I started Game of Thrones." Gleeson also noted that he had no problem with the show's production, «I don’t think it’s got anything to do with the way they film it. I think when it became less of a recreation and more of a profession, it kind of put more pressure on the acting itself and made it a tiny bit less enjoyable.”

Fans have sometimes blamed the series for Gleeson's move away from the spotlight. Following a disappointing Game of Thrones season 8,fans have found numerous issues with the production, but it doesn't