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Previously-Retired 'Game of Thrones' Actor Tackles New Role Where He Looks Unrecognizable

a photo of the game of thrones cast with jack gleeson, kit harrington, sophie turner and joe jonas
Jeff Kravitz/Contributor/Getty Images

It looks like this Game of Thrones star is done with retirement.

Jack Gleeson, who played King Joffrey Baratheon, is starring in a new role. The BBC announced a new series is coming to the network called The Famous Five and Gleeson is dusting off his acting chops for it.

The press release showed a first look of the show, including a picture of Gleeson. In the series, he will be playing a character named Wentworth. While there are no details on his character yet, the press picture of Gleeson is giving us next iconic bad guy. Seriously, just look at his villian-esque mustache which renders him practically unrecognizable.

After Game of Thrones, the star stepped away from acting. It wasn't until 2020 when he began taking small roles in a BBC miniseries called Out of Her Mind and theatre projects like Bears in Space. This will be his first big role since the HBO show ended in 2014.

jack gleeson new bbc role game of thrones king joffery picture
HBO

At the time, when asked why he was taking a hiatus, he told Entertainment Weekly: "I've been acting since age 8. I just stopped enjoying it as much as I used to. And now there's the prospect of doing it for a living, whereas up until now it was always something I did for recreation with my friends, or in the summer for some fun. I enjoyed it. When you make a living from something, it changes your relationship with it. It's not like I hate it, it's just not what I want to do."

The latest BBC show will follow five young friends as they encounter "treacherous, action-packed adventures, remarkable mysteries, unparalleled danger and astounding secrets," according to the press release. This new project is based on the children's novels of the same name by author Enid Blyton. The cast will also include Ann Akinjirin (Moon Knight, I May Destroy You), James Lance (Ted Lasso) and Diana Quick (Father Brown).

We're excited to see him return to our TV once again.


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