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Home / Entertainment

Thrones actor celebrates with beer and cookies

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23 Apr, 2014 03:40 AM4 mins to read

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Jack Gleeson plays King Joffrey in Game of Thrones.

Jack Gleeson plays King Joffrey in Game of Thrones.

*This story contains spoilers.

The late King Joffrey may not have had the best sense of humour but it seems his alter-ego Jack Gleeson has more than enough to make up for it.

The Irish actor, 20, invited his friends to a screening of the now infamous Game of Thrones Purple Wedding episode without letting on that he would be making a grisly exit.

One of Jack's friends shared a picture of the Dublin native hamming it up as his big moment flashed across the screen.

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Eleven of Jack's closest friends got an invite to the event, which was catered by Dublin's Chop Chop.

Gleeson ordered a ten piece order of the Salt Chili Chicken Balls and a few beers from his hometown brewery Eight Degrees, according to TMZ.

There were reportedly some homemade Joffrey-shaped cookies with blood frosting for after the main event.

Gleeson has revealed he's quitting the world of acting as he has no desire to become a celebrity.

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Unlike his sadistic, selfish alter-ego, Gleeson will be disappearing off to Haiti to focus on charity work now his sterling turn as the evil child king is done.

He has spoken out about his final visceral scene in the episode, which centered on the so-called Purple Wedding between King Joffrey Baratheon and Margaery Tyrell.

The actor has told Entertainment Weekly that he found the episode "tough".

Talking about King Joffrey's untimely demise, he said: "I suppose it's one of those things that you have no prior experience in.

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"I've never seen anyone die. It's hard to imagine what it would be like. But [director] Alex [Graves] very kindly walked me through it."

Adding: "It was fun in the end, but kind of stressful to be so focused, but acting like you're completely unfocused. Difficult, but exciting."

The cruel and sadistic boy king, choked to death in the episode during his wedding to Margaery , portrayed by 32-year-old Natalie Dormer.

During the wedding, Joffrey made sure the festivities included a mock battle featuring dwarves recreating the death of Rob Stark (in front of his sister Sansa) and later openly mocked his dwarf uncle Tyrion Lannister, played by 44-year-old actor Peter Dinklage.

The episode titled The Lion And The Rose was written by George R.R. Martin, the 65-year-old author of the epic fantasy novels that HBO's Game Of Thrones is based on.

Martin kept the episode narrowly focused on the wedding and viewers were left without an update on dragon mother Daenerys Targaryen, played by 26-year-old English actress Emilia Clarke, and Jon Snow, portrayed by 27-year-old English actor Kit Harington.

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The Purple Wedding - like last season's bloody Red Wedding - had a surprise for viewers who have not read the books.

The wedding scene was somewhat set by Lady Olenna Tyrell, played by 75-year-old Dame Diana Rigg, when she offered condolences to Sansa Stark, played by 18-year-old English actress Sophie Turner, for the deaths of her family members at the Red Wedding.

"War is war, but killing a man at a wedding? Horrid. ... As if men need more reasons to fear marriage," Olenna said.

After finding his centerpiece pie - filled with birds alive and dead - to be dry, Joffrey demanded a sip of wine from Tyrion, who he has designated his cupbearer for maximum humiliation.

The vicious king appeared to be choking at first, but it soon became clear that he had been poisoned.

Blood poured out of his nose and he fell to the ground, but not before pointing an accusatory finger at his uncle Tyrion.

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As Joffrey lay dying, his pale skin turned purple, hence this episode's nickname.

The dead king's mother Cersei Lannister, played by Lena Headey, immediately ordered the arrest of her brother Tyrion.

Jack added to Entertainment Weekly that he knew his character's fate, and now plans to retire from acting.

"I knew from Day one. When I got the part, I read the first book. And before that, I Googled the character summaries," he said.

"I've been acting since age 8. I just stopped enjoying it as much as I used to," he told EW.

"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."

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Adding: "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."

- Daily Mail

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