Jack Gleeson has just confirmed that he's retired from acting…

[MrScorpio]

I guess that's one way to keep oneself from being typecast.

[PoliticAverse]

1. He can make a good living by monetizing the hate for his character. n/t

[MrScorpio]

2. But he's going back to school

He's got bigger fish to fry.

[Frank Cannon]

3. By all accounts, he's a super nice guy in real life.

That doesn't surprise me. I think the best villains are played by people who are really nice. I met Clancy Brown and Angus Scrimm, who have played some of the most hellacious villains ever, and they were both tremendously cool people.

[NewJeffCT]

4. It seemed like every other cast member that was interviewed

has always mentioned what a nice kid (young man now) that Gleeson is. And, he seems like he has a good head on his shoulders, too.

Best wishes to him.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

5. I heard rumors of the sort several weeks before Sunday's episode.

Which had me believe his character's life didn't have much longer. So I wasn't all that shocked.

Joffrey was just so fun to hate. He was just so one-dimensionally evil and nasty, and as much as I like well-developed nebulous characters (Jaime's shaping up to be that), there's still something refreshing about being able to just hate on a fictional character without remorse.

I still don't think anything can beat the total surprise of the Red Wedding. That had to be the most shocking thing I've ever seen on a television series. I literally sat in total silence for 5 minutes after that episode ended.

While several people have suggested reading the books, with all due respect to George R. R. Martin, I can't start reading the books until the television series ends. I don't want anything to ruin any surprises, and from what I've heard, the series is very faithful to the books. So I'll probably get around to it in 2017 or so.