Would you recast any character?

[Frey Pies]

Have we gotten any reviews or impressions from the screeners yet?

Sorry for asking over here, but I didn't know where else to since the main thread's down.

[Annara Snow]

After all this time we still have this 'how an actor looks' deal , perceptions of what book characters look like differ widely. I know a lot of the art that existed before GOT ever aired did not square with my perception of book character. I don't think George does a super job on detailed physical characteristics.

GRRM was not even consistent in describing starting out describing her is Pug-Ugly and evolving that Homely later.

Anyway it is the craft of the actor you cast for first and appearance second.

I agree that an actor's talent and performance is more important than looks - especially since Maisie's looks don't differ from book!Arya's as wildly as, say, Iain Glen's from book!Jorah or Gethin Anthony from book!Renly. She's still a tiny, plucky thing like book!Arya.

She does not fit the book!Stark look, but other than Joseph Mawle (Benjen), who does? Kit Harington and Sean Bean sure don't, and they don't even look alike. And out of all the Tullys, only show Sansa and Robb can be said to "look Tully". They didn't even try to make Bran's hair auburn, and his eyes are brown (while both his parents have blue eyes). Rickon is blondish on the show. The Stark kids looks are all over the place. Sansa and Catelyn don't even particularly look alike, either.

I don't think Arya is supposed to be "homely" or ugly, nor is her description inconsistent. Child Arya was not seen as beautiful like her sister Sansa, or as pretty as Jeyne Poole, and her being often unkempt and not ladylike didn't help. Children can be quite cruel and petty about other children's looks, and Jeyne no doubt wanted to position herself as the main satellite in Sansa's orbit, so she picked on Arya's long face and called it horsey. Arya, having her mother and Sansa with their "Tully looks" as examples of beauty and femininity, thought of the "Stark looks" as comparatively unattractive, but Ned told her, to her surprise, she looked a lot like Lyanna, who was considered beautiful. And while Ned is considered plain/ordinary, Brandon was considered handsome, and we don't know how good-looking or not people find Jon, but Ygritte sure was attracted to him and called his face "sweet".

Arya is still 11 in ADWD, still only on the cusp of adolescence; most of the time in the Riverlands she was dressing as a lowborn boy and looked rather unkempt and dirty. But, people have increasingly been calling her pretty (Lady Smallwood, when Arya was made to dress well and comb her hair; the Kindly Man, who called her pretty and beautiful and even thought she could have a career as a courtesan) and she's also been increasingly getting pervy male attention (the creepy old dude at the Peach who thought she was a prostitute, multiple Braavosi sailors). As she grows up and goes through adolescence, it seems she is going to turn into quite an attractive girl, like Lyanna. While Sansa is very much a traditional beauty, and also taller and with a more feminine figure, Arya is short, thin and somewhat androgynous-looking (though this may change as she goes through puberty - but I still think her face is more androgynous than, say, Sansa's) but seems to be growing into an unconventional beauty.

It's true that Maisie does not look like book!Arya - among other things, she can't really pass for a boy, especially since she's now 18, which is why they dropped her boy disguise pretty quickly on the show - but that's not crucial for the role.

[canis_lupus]

Stop.

Yes, I know my opinion is really unpopular, but I´m not happy about the way Arya was portrayed in the last two seasons.

In the show, Arya is only obsessed with her "death list". The deep bond between Arya and Nymeria has never been mentioned. But that´s an important part of Aryas personality. I don´t like the way how Arya is portrayed, because of this and many other reasons as well. But I don´t think it´s Maisie Williams fault. I heard that she has never read the books, so I think she is only following the instructions of the Showmakers.

[Colonel Green]

Sansa and Catelyn don't even particularly look alike, either.

Ironically, in the show it's Arya who looks much more like Catelyn.

[fear2433]

Benjen is so damn accurate with stark look. Long faced, dark hair.

Jon btw is only half stark :p

I know! Rickon is blond, what were they thinking?

Also I sometimes wonder, what if Maisie had a big growth spurt and became really tall, wouldnt that been weird looking :)

Eddard had slightly brown hair! Why didnt they use a black wig?

At KL, Arya resembled Ned but Arya is round faced and does not have black hair.

As for talent. Yeah thats true. Maybe an actress who was a "perfect" Arya wouldnt act this well.

Still I feel Ugh when people say Arya is hot. The looks they set up for Arya doesnt make her look hot. Looks like a boy.

[Annara Snow]

Ironically, in the show it's Arya who looks much more like Catelyn.

However, Jennifer Ehle, who was originally cast as Cat, looks quite a bit like Sophie Turner.

[fear2433]

I would recast Emilia.

Her scene where she talks to Jorah before banishing him was the worst ever. She acted like Aemon.

Also whever Dany needs to be assertive, she sounds like a kid throwing a tantrum

[Jack Bauer 24]

I would recast Emilia.

Her scene where she talks to Jorah before banishing him was the worst ever. She acted like Aemon.

Also whever Dany needs to be assertive, she sounds like a kid throwing a tantrum

Not surprising. You also made that Emilia thread where everyone called it disgusting.

[AdmiralKyrd]

I'd recast Summer in the pilot. Wolf #4 being gray just didn't do it for me.

Oh wait. On a serious note...

I'd like to recast Ser Pounce in Season 4, and replace it with a cat that would just sit on the bed and not run around.

[fear2433]

Not surprising. You also made that Emilia thread where everyone called it disgusting.

That happens when you talk about any popular character or actor. You are going against public "mob" opinion.

That musn't stop you from saying what you feel.

Try saying Peter Dinklage sucks (he rocks btw) angry fans will hunt you down.

[The Onion Kniggit]

Definitely would rather have Jennifer Ehle as Catelyn, I have nothing against Michelle Fairley though.

Mark Strong would have better Stannis than Stephen Dillane physically speaking. I think Dillane is better as Randyll Tarly.

If I can't have Katheryn Winnick as Val, her being Cersei would be my second choice. Lena looks awful with that blonde wig. Viva Bianca however would have made the perfect book Cersei in my opinion.

I would like to see Alexander Skarsgard as Jaime Lannister although I don't think I would replace Nikolai with him yet.

[Le Cygne]

ASkars would be a good Rhaegar.

[Annara Snow]

Definitely would rather have Jennifer Ehle as Catelyn, I have nothing against Michelle Fairley though.

Mark Strong would have better Stannis than Stephen Dillane physically speaking. I think Dillane is better as Randyll Tarly.

If I can't have Katheryn Winnick as Val, her being Cersei would be my second choice. Lena looks awful with that blonde wig. Viva Bianca however would have made the perfect book Cersei in my opinion.

I would like to see Alexander Skarsgard as Jaime Lannister although I don't think I would replace Nikolai with him yet.

That's a good call - however, she would have been too young for Cersei, even more so considering the show's aging up. If the show were made in 10 years time, then she'd fit.

I would never replace NCW, he's the perfect Jaime IMO. Just give him better hair that's more like his old haistyle, longer and blonder!

I can't imagine Dillane as Tarly though... I see him as someone like David O'Hara. The main problem with Dillane (but it would also be with Strong) is that they're both hotter than Gethin Anthony, but that's more of a problem with the show's Renly casting. It's also hard to imagine Mark Addy, great as he was as Robert, as a young warrior hunk Robert. It's ironic since Stannis is supposed to be the least attractive of the brothers in the books.

Michelle Fairley was great, but Jennifer Ehle would have been a much better physical match for Cat. I'd also love to have seen Ian McNiece as Illyrio.

[HexMachina]

So I finally looked up Jennifer Ehle, and I can at last concur she is a better physical match. However, I still think Michelle is a pretty good physical fit, if for an older Catelyn than we get in the books. And of course, she does a brilliant job in her portrayal of Cat, and off screen seems to have a thorough understanding of the character too. I've not seen (that I am aware of) Jennifer Ehle in anything before, so I can't speak to her acting abilities. Google images has her in quite a lot of fancy dresses though, so am I correct in assuming she has played the part of a Lady before?

If we are going to mention looks, I have a problem with Lysa's depiction, as she looks younger and slimmer than Cat. Both are equally attractive. I love her acting in the Show though, so wouldn't actually recast her, but I thought I would mention it while we are on the topic.

[Colonel Green]

Google images has her in quite a lot of fancy dresses though, so am I correct in assuming she has played the part of a Lady before?

She's most famous for having been Elizabeth Bennett in the mid-90s BBC miniseries version of Pride & Prejudice, opposite Colin Firth.

[The Onion Kniggit]

That's a good call - however, she would have been too young for Cersei, even more so considering the show's aging up. If the show were made in 10 years time, then she'd fit.

I would never replace NCW, he's the perfect Jaime IMO. Just give him better hair that's more like his old haistyle, longer and blonder!

I can't imagine Dillane as Tarly though... I see him as someone like David O'Hara. The main problem with Dillane (but it would also be with Strong) is that they're both hotter than Gethin Anthony, but that's more of a problem with the show's Renly casting. It's also hard to imagine Mark Addy, great as he was as Robert, as a young warrior hunk Robert. It's ironic since Stannis is supposed to be the least attractive of the brothers in the books.

Michelle Fairley was great, but Jennifer Ehle would have been a much better physical match for Cat. I'd also love to have seen Ian McNiece as Illyrio.

Viva Bianca is the same age right now as Cersei in the beginning of AGOT.

As for Dillane being better looking than Gethin. I think that is a matter of opinion. My problem with Dillane is he looks way too darn old that many Show watchers have mistaken him for Robert's older brother. Yea I understand Shadowbabies did age him up a bit. but Dillane and Dance look like they are pretty much in the same generation. Speaking of Renly, the show has completely butchered him. In terms of Casting I would probably have Liam Hemsworth as Renly.

[tyrell19]

Jennifer Ehle is a great actress but I wouldn't want anyone to replace Fairley. I'd have liked to have seen her as Dustin perhaps but that dreams over now :(

[Good Guy Garlan]

Viola Davis also said she'd like to be on the show, so here's hoping Lady Mellario makes a kickass entrance in WoW

[Colonel Green]

It's also hard to imagine Mark Addy, great as he was as Robert, as a young warrior hunk Robert.

I think that's an inherent problem in casting Robert, unless you did something like cast the young and powerful man and then put him in a fatsuit.

Viola Davis also said she'd like to be on the show, so here's hoping Lady Mellario makes a kickass entrance in WoW

Based on what her son Trystane looks like on the show, I doubt that part would make sense.

[igrewupinKL]

I loved Mark Addy on the show, but this guy who plays King Aelle on Vikings would have been a better match, physically. although he doesn't have blue eyes....but then again neither do Stannis or Renly so :dunno:

http://img.poptower.com/pic-114207/ivan-kaye.jpg?d=600