Does it bother you that they've "skipped" violet eyecolor?

[I know I know]

simple to implement...

important for the lore of the world (hints about character ancestry, etc)...

looks distinctive without being goofy, especially compared to the other contact lens SFX which are so commonplace now that no one notices them anymore...

for that matter, can be done extremely subtly, if that's preferred...

can be played up or down in different situations, if that's preferred...

I just don't understand why they skipped something so easy to do, even subtly, and yet so rich in narrative significance.

Does anybody know what D&D's reasoning is?

[Qhorin Fivehands]

Yeah I thought it would've been a relatively easy thing to do, and was a bit disappointed they didn't. I guess it may have made the Targs look a little other-worldly and make the non book readers forget they live on the same planet.

[David Selig]

Not on all.

I wish they hadn't made Dany a blonde too, Emilia Clarke looks way better as a brunette. Especially in the first season her hair looks just terrible.

IIRC they tried the purple contact lenses at first, but the actors were so distracted by them they had to remove them.

[YTDN]

Yeah I thought it would've been a relatively easy thing to do, and was a bit disappointed they didn't. I guess it may have made the Targs look a little other-worldly and make the non book readers forget they live on the same planet.

Apparently they tried it, but the colour contacts made it too difficult for Emilia to act effectively.

[LuisDantas]

I wish they hadn't made Dany a blonde too, Emilia Clarke looks way better as a brunette.

That she certainly does, to a surprising degree even. But I think the plot can't be very well work with a non-blonde Daenerys. Of course, there is no reason why Daenerys _had_ to be played by Emilia Clarke.

As for the purple eyes, I suppose I miss them slightly. But contact lenses aren't always a reasonable option, and digital editing is probably too expensive and too time-consuming to be practical.

[Theda Baratheon]

I miss Mel's red eyes more :P

[Fat Mac]

The actors found the purple contact lenses distracting, so they didn't use them.

I can basically get over all physical differences if I think the acting is good enough. Mark Addy as Robert Baratheon is the perfect example.

[Qhorin Fivehands]

Apparently they tried it, but the colour contacts made it too difficult for Emilia to act effectively.

Seriously? Wow she complains almost as much as her character.

[ebevan91]

Seriously? Wow she complains almost as much as her character.

Well I think Harry Lloyd complained about it too.

[Qhorin Fivehands]

Well I think Harry Lloyd complained about it too.

I stand corrected.

[Theda Baratheon]

Contacts also limit the expression of the eyes and some eye shapes are just not shaped correctly to comfortably wear eye contacts.

[boojam]

Does anybody know what D&D's reasoning is?

As everybody noted they did try contacts and just did work.

Main reason it bothered the actors.

Also heard that , and I am not sure I believe this, that the cinematographers had problems with lighting and photographing scenes.

There was some rumor they thought of VFX , but too expensive.

Anyway does not bother me Emilia Clarke eye's are blue enough combined with the wig.

[revenant6]

I would have love for the contacts to be in show - and not for only the Targs, but Tyrion, Mel, Jon Snow, Meera/Jojen - everybody. The book makes such a big deal about it being a heritable trait.

On the flip side, I'm happy to have the show. So no contacts is ok.

More direwolves would be cool, though.

[Gregor's Nancy Boy]

Yeah, apparently they tried that and it turned out to be a problem for the actors. I'm sorry, but they should have just sucked it up. I don't understand at what point they presumed they had the right to complain and consequently alter an adaption of such magnitude in a negative way.

[dtones520]

I think I remember hearing them say one of the actors was having some issues with the contacts really irritating their eyes or something.

I don't think it's a big deal on TV. Viewers of the show only wouldn't really pay much attention to it and some eyes would look really weird on TV, like Roose Boltons.

[victim]

It's not only about the actors complaining, it's about the final result. Even if they had used contacts, there was no guarantee they would have looked natural. And by "natural" I mean, would it seem like the characters natural eye colour or would it look like an actor wearing contacts? I love the idea of Targaryens having violet (lilac in Viserys' case) eyes, but some things just don't translate well to the screen. The Stark's are meant to have grey eyes, and that wouldn't have looked very good either.

Really, all they did was weigh the aesthetic of the show against loyalty to the source material, and one came out on top for a number of reasons.

[Great Other]

They could have used computer software to re-color character's eyes without contact lens.

[YTDN]

They could have used computer software to re-color character's eyes without contact lens.

I think that would have turned out too expensive in the long run.

[protar]

Yeah, apparently they tried that and it turned out to be a problem for the actors. I'm sorry, but they should have just sucked it up. I don't understand at what point they presumed they had the right to complain and consequently alter an adaption of such magnitude in a negative way.

So you would have preferred purple eyed actors doing a poorer job because they were uncomfortable the whole time they were filming? Or would you prefer blue eyed actors doing their best performance (whatever you may think of that performance)?

Ultimately the purple eyes aren't massively important. The Valyrian look is important, but that is achieved with the white-blonde hair and not just the purple eyes. It would have been nice, but it doesn't bother me. I barely notice the actor's eye colours.

[Gregor's Nancy Boy]

So you would have preferred purple eyed actors doing a poorer job because they were uncomfortable the whole time they were filming? Or would you prefer blue eyed actors doing their best performance (whatever you may think of that performance)?

Well I don't think Emilia Clarke or Harry Lloyd for that matter are very experienced actors. I doubt they knew what was best for their performance. For all we know, they could have gotten used to them within a week of shooting. I have a feeling it went something like "these are too much of a pain to put on for every scene, ow they hurt my eyes, I've never worn contacts before, it's hard to look at someone with purple eyes and act seriously" and the showrunners just decided to support them with valid reasons that make more sense such as:

it's about the final result

there was no guarantee they would have looked natural

some things just don't translate well to the screen

They, like you and several others on this thread alone, most likely thought it wasn't a big deal. Somebody complaining is all the deterrent one could assume they'd need to "skip" violet Targaryen eyes.