Game of Thrones' Joffrey actor makes surprise Sex Education appearance

Starring in the fourth and final season of Sex Education is none other than Jack Gleeson, who plays Dodgy Mo – a friend of Maeve's brother, Sean (Edward Bluemel).

It's been a while since we've seen Gleeson on our screens after he rose to acting success in HBO's Game of Thrones as mouthy young villain Joffrey Baratheon.

The Irish actor starred in the hit series from 2011 to 2014 and earned two Screen Actors Guild Award nominations, as well as others nods for his iconic role as the teenage heir of king Robert Baratheon (Mark Addy) and Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey).

But following his departure from the hit fantasy series in 2014, Gleeson retired from the world of acting.

At the time, he told students during a talk at University College Dublin: "It really came down to just not deriving as much enjoyment as I did from acting as I used to.

"I started acting when I was eight and really, really loved it, you know... For some reason, I don’t know, it became a bit kind of mechanical and less kind of passionate when I started Game of Thrones."

Most recently, Gleeson returned to screens in Sara Pascoe's sitcom Out of Her Mind, where he starred as Casper. But this previously undisclosed Sex Education role firmly places Gleeson back into the world of TV.

In Sex Education, Gleeson's character is one caught up in a major overarching storyline, which sees Sean and Maeve (Emma Mackey) sent reeling by a sudden crisis regarding their mother, Erin (Anne-Marie Duff).

Maeve handles things a lot better than Sean, who goes missing in the aftermath, with Otis (Asa Butterfield) and Eric (Ncuti Gatwa) calling by Dodgy Mo's house while investigating his whereabouts.

The character reappears in the following episode and tells Maeve that her brother – who has long struggled with drug addiction and recently started using heroin again – had moved out in an effort to rehabilitate himself.

Dodgy Mo himself appears to have an unhealthy recreational drug habit, although he is much more affable towards Maeve and her friends than his nickname would have you assume.

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This won't be the last we see of Gleeson, as he's recently been confirmed to be starring in the new BBC One adaptation of Enid Blyton's Famous Five novels.

He's set to star as Wentworth in the new series alongside Diaana Babnicova (Don't Breathe 2), Elliott Rose (The Northman) and Kit Rakusen (The Midwich Cuckoos).

The rest of the cast for the new BBC Famous Five series also includes Moon Knight's Ann Akinjirin starring as Fanny, Ted Lasso's James Lance portraying Quentin and Diana Quick taking on the role of Mrs Wentworth.

As well as the new Famous Five series, Gleeson will be starring in upcoming film In The Land of Saints and Sinners, which is Liam Neeson's latest action thriller venture.

The film's synopsis reads: "Ireland, 1970s. Eager to leave his dark past behind, Finbar Murphy (Neeson) leads a quiet life in the remote coastal town of Glencolmcille, far from the political violence that grips the rest of the country.

"When a menacing crew of terrorists arrive, led by a ruthless woman named Doirean, Finbar soon discovers that one of them has been abusing a local young girl.

"Drawn into an increasingly vicious game of cat and mouse, Finbar must choose between exposing his secret identity or defending his friends and neighbours."

While Gleeson's role in the movie is yet to be confirmed, we do know that he joins an ensemble that includes the likes of Ciarán Hinds (Belfast) and Kerry Condon (Better Call Saul), as well as Neeson in the lead role.

The fourth season of Sex Education is the last instalment of the hit Netflix series and sees Otis and Eric navigate new school terrain at Cavendish Sixth Form College after the closure of Moordale Secondary.

As well as dealing with life as a new older brother and the other sex therapist at school, Otis is also faced with the prospect of Maeve living her dream in the US at the prestigious Wallace University, where she's being taught by cult author Thomas Molloy (Dan Levy).

Sex Education season 4 is coming to Netflix on Thursday 21st September 2023. Sign up for Netflix from £4.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream.

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