Jack Gleeson Clarifies Retirement Rumors After Game Of Thrones

Game of Thrones star Jack Gleeson has clarified rumors of his retirement from on-screen acting after his major return in Netflix’s House of Guinness. The Game of Thrones star portrayed the sociopathic Joffrey Baratheon until season 4 of the fantasy show. He later stepped away from acting onscreen, with rumors circulating he retired due to hate aimed at his character.

In an interview with The Hook about his role in the Netflix series House of Guinness, Gleeson clarified rumors involving him retiring from acting after Game of Thrones. The star explained that he hadn’t stepped away due to any abuse from fans, saying he started a theatre company with friends that took up most of his time:

Well, I can say, thankfully, it wasn’t because I received any sort of abuse from anybody. Thankfully! I know that can happen, sadly. People confuse the character with the actor, but after Game of Thrones — or even during the show — I was continuing to act, but it was more of just a theatre company that I set up with some friends in Dublin, and, I don’t know, I was more into that at that time. But then I started to miss screen acting, and I got back into it.

What Gleeson’s Statement Says About His Career After Game Of Thrones

Jack Gleeson as Byron Hedges holding flags in House of Guinness

Following Game of Thrones, Gleeson didn’t have any other TV roles until 2020, when he appeared as Casper in the British sitcom Out of Her Mind. While he’s appeared in limited roles since, 2025 has been a massive return for his career. His biggest role this year was portraying Byron Hughes on the cast of House of Guinness.

However, within that lengthy break, he didn’t stop acting. With the theatre production company Collapsing Horse, he starred in the plays Bears in Space from 2014 to 2016 and The Water Orchard in 2017. He was also a performer on the 2018 play podcast Science Fiction Radio Hour. Despite his absence on the small screen, he was still taking roles.

Since Game of Thrones, Gleeson has also starred in the 2016 short film Chat and two feature films: 2021’s Rebecca’s Boyfriend and 2023’s In the Land of Saints and Sinners.

This hadn’t prevented speculation that negative fan reactions to Joffrey had made him step back from the spotlight. Luckily, this isn’t the case, as Gleeson himself confirms. It also helps that 2025 has seen him take on other major roles too, such as Farrell in crime drama Safe Harbor and as Robin Goodfellow in The Sandman season 2.

Our Take On Gleeson Denying Retirement Rumors

Jack Gleeson as Byron Hedges sitting down holding several bottles in House of Guinness

Gleeson’s statement emphasizes how, despite the numerous rumors that have been swirling about his post-Game of Thrones career, he never experienced extreme enough fan abuse to deter him from acting. Instead, he’d simply turned to a different medium of expression, returning to TV when a suitable role would come up. However, House of Guinness is his biggest so far.

With the Game of Thrones actor impressing in his comeback via the Netflix series, it’s possible he’ll be showing up in even more TV roles in the future. His acting career has been quite decorated so far, meaning it won’t be shocking for his future roles to maintain the critical acclaim of some of his biggest, like Joffrey and Byron.