Jack Gleeson

Born in Cork, Ireland, Jack Gleeson began acting at the age of seven as a member of the esteemed Independent Theatre Workshop in Dublin. He made his screen debut in the fantasy drama "Reign of Fire" (2002) with Christian Bale before segueing into several short films. By 2005, he was working steadily in U.K.-lensed projects, including "Batman Begins" (2005) and the popular Irish comedy series "Killinaskully" (RTE One 2003-2008). Gleeson received solid reviews from the European press for his performance as a love-struck young man driven to extreme behavior in the drama "All Good Children" (2010). The following year, Gleeson received his breakout role as Joffrey Baratheon on "Game of Thrones" (HBO 2011-19). One of the most villainous characters on a series populated by a panoply of rogues, scoundrels and outright criminals, Joffrey was the product of incestuous union by his mother, Queen Cersei (Lena Headey) and her brother, Jaime Lannister (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau), and inherited their penchants for cruelty and lust for power. Made king after the death of the long-ruling Robert (Mark Addy), Joffrey quickly establishes himself as a vicious dictator by killing the well-liked Eddard Stark (Sean Bean), which launches the devastating War of the Five Kings. After his role in "Game of Thrones," Gleeson appeared as Casper in the 2020 BBC Two series "Out of Her Mind." He also starred as Kevin alongside Liam Neeson in the feature film "In the Land of Saints and Sinners" (2023). Jack Gleeson is set to appear as Byron Hughes in the Netflix series "House of Guinness," slated for a fall 2025 release.