Rosario Monachino
Jack Gleeson has revealed that working on Game Of Thrones caused him to lose his passion for acting.
The A Shine of Rainbows star, 31, played arguably one of the most hated characters on television as King Joffrey Baratheon in the HBO fantasy series.
Gleeson made his debut on the show in 2011 and had a starring role until his character met their demise in 2014.
Despite starring in one of the most popular shows in recent times – the Shrooms actor has admitted that he lost interest in acting.
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During a talk at the University of Dublin, Gleeson shared how after leaving the show, he lost his passion for acting and didn’t want to pursue it as a full-time career.
Speaking to students, he said: “It really comes down to just not deriving as much enjoyment as I did from acting as I used to.
“I started acting when I was eight and really really loved it, you know. All I wanted to be was an actor when I grew up.”
Gleeson started acting in the early 2000s and made appearances in Batman Begins with Christian Bale and in Reign of Fire alongside Gerard Butler.
He was cast in Game Of Thrones when he was 19 but told the students that after landing his biggest role, he started to lose passion.
“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 added.
However, he doesn’t think that the way the HBO series was made had anything to do with his disinterest.
He continued: “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.”
After being dealt a brutal exit from Game Of Thrones, Gleeson took a break from acting and took time to pursue academia.
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He has since made a handful of appearances in projects, including the series Out Of Her Mind and the film Rebecca’s Boyfriend.
Gleeson is set to star in the upcoming thriller In The Land Of Saints And Sinners – acting opposite Liam Neeson and Ciarán Hinds.
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