2009 . Gleeson was part of the initial starring cast and remained a member of the cast for the second and third seasons . He cites Joaquin Phoenix as Commodus in Gladiator as an influence on his portrayal of Joffrey . Jack is a student of Trinity College , Dublin , studying philosophy and theology and is a member of DU Players . As a result , Gleeson ’ s natural speaking voice actually has a pronounced Irish accent : the upper-class , Received Pronunciation accent he adopts while playing Joffrey on-screen is a conscious part of his performance . In the Blu-ray commentary for “ Lord Snow ”, Sophie Turner ( Sansa Stark ) explains that for amusement between takes , the English-accented Turner and Irish-accented Gleeson would imitate one another ’ s accents . In 2012 , he was awarded a scholarship at the same university . He has indicated an intention to pursue an academic career rather than a professional acting career , once his work on Game of Thrones is completed . Gleeson is also the founder and artistic director of Collapsing Horse Theatre Company , which is based in Dublin .