1) In your own words, describe what Doran Martell looks like (eg his face, body, clothing, posture, anything else) and what his personality is like. What is your description based on? (for example, descriptions in the book, fan art, Alexander Siddig, another actor, other things)
He's older, maybe 40s or 50s, and heavy with white hair. His posture is strained due to gout, which also causes his limbs and digits to appear very swollen. His skin would be darker as he is dornish. Doran is a kind, thoughtful person innately, but he's also a proud highborn prince with duties to his family and people. He demonstrates patience, discipline, and intelligence throughout chapters where he is observed. Most of all, Doran is a thinker, and will not be spring to impulsive action. 2) Alexander Siddig will play Doran in the show, how does he compare to your own mental image of Doran before he was cast? (eg does he look the same? Is it hard for you to remember your mental image before he was cast? Did you imagine someone else playing the character? Anything else?)
Some of the actors on the HBO show have influence how I view characters when I reread the books (Arya, for one). Doran is not one of them as I feel he doesn't really fit my mental image of the character. I was expecting him to be older, fatter, and demonstrate a more contemplative attitude/manner. The actor was attractive, which I never associated with Doran (and Quentyn is called homely more than once and said to resemble his father). Unfortunately for the actor, the source material did not inspire the show in any of the right ways and the character literally became a throw-away. 3) Have you seen Siddig in any other films or shows (eg Syriana, Reign of Fire, Clash of the Titans, Star Trek, 24, anything else)? How do those other roles affect your feelings about him being cast as Doran? (For example, did you like those other roles? Are you happy to see the actor in something else? Are you happy to see the actor in GoT in particular? etc).
Have not.
4) Have you read or seen any interviews with Siddig about his part in Game of Thrones? What have you learned about Siddig himself or his role as Doran? Where did you find this information? (for example YouTube, his official website, other websites, magazines).
Nope, I don't really read anything about the show or the actors. If I have free time to explore something like that I'd rather just stick to the books. The only time I've read an interview was about Michelle Fairley's (Catelyn) experience filming her scenes in the Red Wedding. I thought she did a really good job.