10 Actors You Didn't Know Have Retired

7. Jack Gleeson

Emma Watson The Bling Ring
HBO

Jack Gleeson got to ham it up as one of the most detestable TV characters in recent TV history, playing Joffrey Baratheon in 26 episodes of Game of Thrones.

Once the Irish actor's work was finished on Thrones, though, he decided that the acting life wasn't for him, retiring from the industry in 2014 to instead focus on a career in academia.

For one reason or another, that academic career didn't pan out, but Gleeson has spent his post-Thrones years working in theater production. Back in 2010, he was one of the founders of the Collapsing Horse Theatre Company in Dublin, and it's with Collapsing Horse that a lot of his energy has been focussed until the company was wrapped up in 2019.

A few comedy festival appearances and even some conventions have followed for Gleeson since 2019, but he still very much seems to be happy away from the spotlight of the acting industry - although a fleeting appearance in Sara Pascoe's Out of Her Mind last year may mean that a full-on return to acting can't be ruled out for the now-28-year-old.

In a completely random fact, Gleeson actually turned up for a one-time outing as a babyface performer for Over the Top Wrestling in August 2019.

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