An actor who is a regular on the HBO series "Game of Thrones" says he will quit acting as soon as the acclaimed drama series comes to an end. Jack Gleeson, who plays the evil King Joffrey on the series, made the comments to the Irish Independent.

"The lifestyle that comes with being an actor in a successful TV show isn’t something I gravitate towards,” the Irish actor said. “It was always a recreation beforehand, but when I started doing ‘Game of Thrones’ perhaps the reality was made too real for me.”

Asked whether he watches himself on the show, he says he tends not to. “You tend to abstract yourself from the creepiness of it when you’re playing it, but when you see it on television it sends shivers down my spine,” he said. “I would like to try and defend him, but I would have a pretty hard job doing it. I suppose he’s the product of his context and his family. In terms of redeemable qualities, there wouldn’t be many."

Jack Gleeson in "Game of Thrones"