The actor who played King Joffrey reflects on pissing himself while filming Reign Of Fire
Jack Gleeson, the actor best known for playing Game Of Thrones’ petulant monster-boy, King Joffrey, seems like a perfectly nice person. He’s heavily involved with charity, is effortlessly funny in interviews, and is also the kind of guy who, when talking to Vulture about his career, has no qualms about talking about the time he pissed himself on the set of the 2002fantasy movie Reign Of Fire.
No stranger to stories about dragons with a “Noun Of Noun” title construction, Gleeson was nine when filming Reign Of Fire. The movie—which he describes as “really kind of mediocre”—was one of his first acting jobs. Gleeson says he “got cast just because they filmed it in Ireland” and that the gig was the result of the production trying to “[band] together as many young Irish kids as possible.” As if this humility isn’t enough, Gleeson followed up on this point with an unprompted memory of his time on set.
“I do remember really needing to go to the bathroom at one point,” he tells Vulture. “They were like, ‘Just wait, we’re filming,’ so I just wet myself. I was a 9-year old kid, and I had to piss my pants.”