Here’s Why King Joffrey Is Actually A Very Nice Guy (In Real Life)

We hated him.

Until Olly stabbed our beloved Lord Commander.

The intensity of hate we had for him is a testament to the character. But all the credit cannot go to the character. The actor played the role more than convincingly. So convincingly – that it generated hate in our hearts for him.

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So, in a way, it is also a testament to his acting too.

Joffrey Lannister was played by Jack Gleeson and was a target of much hate from the fans. It is not surprising for him to get pelted with so much hate because the show is a hit with a fanatical fan following – to the extent that fans are angered when a villain triumphs, happy when a hero rejoices and cry when their favorite hero is killed – all of which happen very often.

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Most of the venting is done on the Internet – people comment, make memes, write TL;DR posts, make videos – the whole shebang. And Jack Gleeson is a young guy. It is safe to assume that he surfs the Internet. He will come across the hate meted out to his character, and although he is different from Joffrey, he cannot but feel bad for portraying the character – which actually happened.

Even though we have a lot of hate for Joffrey, Jack Gleeson is actually a very nice guy –

1. Jack doesn’t really want to quit acting forever. He was just taking a break!

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There were multiple reports after season 4 that Jack Gleeson wanted to quit acting forever, but it is not true. He just wanted to take a break from it – or at least think whether he genuinely enjoys doing it.

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“I’m happy to sacrifice a big pay cheque for my happiness, if that’s not too corny a thing to say. It’s probably more naive than mature to say that, maybe, but that’s how I feel.”


2. Jack Gleeson wanted to do his PhD in Philosophy and wants to lecture on that too.

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He has already completed his Philosophy and Theology degree already and had a full scholarship at the college too.

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3. He started acting since the age of eight. He loved acting when he did it for fun and stop enjoying it after he did it for a living

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He acted in movies because he loved doing it with his friends. Things changed when he started doing it for money, and he didn’t really feel happy doing it anymore.

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4. George R R Martin feels guilty of the fact that Jack Gleeson quit acting after portraying Joffrey

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The author has said that Gleeson is actually “…really a very nice young man, charming and friendly.”

Our thanks to Mr. Martin for killing Jack Gleeson’s acting ambitions too.

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5. Gleeson hates being a celebrity and alleges that it is an exercise that dehumanizes people.

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He hated it. He likes being a part of the normal crowd, rather than being a celebrity.


“I detested the superficial elevation and commodification of it all, juxtaposed with the grotesque self-involvement it would sometimes draw out of me.”


6. He knew from day 1 that he was going to die in Game Of Thrones, and didn’t really care about it. He just kept on acting.

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He was one of the few people who knew his fate right from episode one.

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7. He has opened his own theater company and wants to create a project from the ground up

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He wants to make a project that starts from scratch. He made a short film and even acted in it. It is called Bears in Space

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8. If he gets a call to revive his role of Joffrey, he says he will gladly accept.

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After the rebirth of Jon Snow, even he is hopeful of coming back, if given a call by the producers.

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9. He is your average nice guy. He loves dancing to any song basically

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He has some pretty good dance moves. Or not.

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10. Jack is a positive guy. He doesn’t watch GOT. He finds it hard to watch and hates the violence against the women

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He does not like the portrayal of violence on the show.


“I think audiences will always like bad guys who kill for no apparent reason. We just like to hate them.”


11. Fame or infamy is not his reason to quit. He didn’t find happiness while acting. But he is open to the thought that he can act again.

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An actor of his caliber, we want him back!

We hope he is happy whatever he is doing, and wish him all the best for the future.

And a very happy birthday!

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