
Along with his fellow ensemble cast members on "Game of Thrones," Gleeson received two Screen Actors Guild Award nominations for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series. In 2011, the young actor began playing the sadistic Joffrey Baratheon, the heir of king Robert Baratheon, on the HBO fantasy series "Game of Thrones." Gleeson portrayed the character for 26 episodes across the show's first four seasons he mentioned Joaquin Phoenix's portrayal of Commodus in the film "Gladiator" as a central inspiration for his performance. However, it was three years after the conclusion of the show that Gleeson had his breakthrough role. in four episodes of the Irish comedy series "Killinaskully." The show focused on the strange events and eccentric townsfolk of the fictitious titular village. Gleeson had his first television role from 2006 to 2008, playing Pa Connors Jr. Gleeson made his screen acting debut in 2002 with a bit part in the apocalyptic fantasy film "Reign of Fire." He followed this with appearances in a number of short films, including "Moving Day," "Fishtale," and "Tom Waits Made Me Cry." In 2005, Gleeson played the little boy on the balcony in Christopher Nolan's superhero drama "Batman Begins." Two years later, he was in the Irish slasher film "Shrooms" as a lonely twin. Additionally, Gleeson was a member of the DU Players theatre group at the school.

For his higher education, he attended Trinity College Dublin, where he studied theology and philosophy. Growing up, Gleeson went to the Catholic boys' secondary school Gonzaga College, and took drama classes while performing in youth theatre with the Independent Theatre Workshop. He has two older sisters named Emma and Rachel, both of whom are also actors. Jack Gleeson was born on in Cork, Ireland and was raised in the Ranelagh area of Dublin.

As he pointed out, the job came with one major perk too. Playing the character everyone loved to hate could not have been easy, so it is really no wonder Gleeson would have enjoyed a chance to take on the role of such a beloved character.

The boy king held the title of most despised Game of Thrones character until his shocking Season 4 death, thanks in large part to Gleeson's amazing performance. "He's the best." Hodor is indeed the best, but he is also a far cry from Gleeson's role as the sadistic and petulant King Joffrey. "Probably Hodor, just because who wouldn't?" Gleeson explained. According to Gleeson, if he could have played any other character on Game of Thrones, it would have been Hodor. He revealed the character in question at the New York Comic Con, which Bustle attended. But be warned, fans: it is a surprising one. I mean, who wouldn't want to play Daenerys? Even the former King of Westeros, Jack Gleeson - better known as Joffrey - would have loved a chance to play another character. When you are on a show with a cast as expansive as Game of Thrones, it is only natural for the actors to get a case of character envy every now and then.
