My only problem with the TV series

[moirne]

I have it in my head what the characters / settings look like when reading the books

When I read the books after seeing the TV series I'm going to imagine the characters as being how they look on the TV. Not sure if this is a good thing!

Same happened to me when reading Harry Potter after seeing the films

Anyone else do this?

I doubt that the HBO show will ruin the way I imagine the characters. I've based a lot on fanart that I've seen and since I have such a distinct picture in my head of them, the actors aren't going to change that. I saw the first Harry Potter movie before I read the books, and yet I never pictured the characters like they are in the film. You have to look at the book and the TV series as separate creative entities.

[fitheach]

I agree about Theon, but then, I think it could be an interesting choice also. I think Headey for Cersei is also the same: she's not really accurate in some ways but the differences could be interesting.

Bean is not my idea of Ned, and I know he's got advantages, he's a recognizable name that needs to be paid only for one season, and he's a credible actor. All the same, he comes off as a certain kind of typecasting that I have to honestly admit I find disappointing. Same with Ehle for Catelyn. I know I'm pretty much alone here though, most people seem to love those two choices, but I find myself doing the "did we even read the same books" thing :ohwell: That's opinions for ya.

I was skeptical about Mark Addy at first but for whatever reason I'm open to the idea now. I think all the Stark kids, including Sansa and Jon, are cast superbly, and I'm a little surprised you find Kit Harrington lacking in the "handsome" department! I can guarantee you that my teenaged sister will be all over that.

Except for Jennifer Ehle as Catelyn (whom I like), I agree with what you've said.

Your not alone. :-)

[Ninepenny]

My image of what the characters look like in my head has been heavily influenced by the artwork, and that seems to be pretty close to the casting (e.g. as shown in my thread on the matter) so it won't be too much of a shock for the main cast. Saying that, I've seen both of the Discworld adaptations that Sky did and I still think of the characters as I had thought of them (which is a mix between the artwork on the book, how they look in the games and how I just imagined they'd look like). I've heard the ASoIaF series on audiobook and they weren't consistent with pronunciations so I'm not particularly attached to what things sound like, nor am I too fussed about what people look precisely like so long as it seems reasonable. I've seen some adaptations where they completely ruin everything (e.g. Earthsea) and it's just so different it didn't really effect how I saw the original, but then if I read Harry Potter again it would be those actors I had in my head (but I don't particularly mind).

[fitheach]

I agree about Theon, but then, I think it could be an interesting choice also. I think Headey for Cersei is also the same: she's not really accurate in some ways but the differences could be interesting.

Bean is not my idea of Ned, and I know he's got advantages, he's a recognizable name that needs to be paid only for one season, and he's a credible actor. All the same, he comes off as a certain kind of typecasting that I have to honestly admit I find disappointing. Same with Ehle for Catelyn. I know I'm pretty much alone here though, most people seem to love those two choices, but I find myself doing the "did we even read the same books" thing :ohwell: That's opinions for ya.

I was skeptical about Mark Addy at first but for whatever reason I'm open to the idea now. I think all the Stark kids, including Sansa and Jon, are cast superbly, and I'm a little surprised you find Kit Harrington lacking in the "handsome" department! I can guarantee you that my teenaged sister will be all over that.

Except for Jennifer Ehle as Catelyn (whom I like), I agree with what you've said.

Your not alone. :-)

[Erik of Hazelfield]

I still remember how I imagined the characters of Lord of the Rings before I saw the movies. It's just that I thought whoever casted those roles did a much better job than my own imagination, so now I'm torn as what to imagine if I read the books again.

In ASoIaF, I suspect this will be a minor problem since nearly everyone looks more or less exactly as I imagined them.

[Venardhi]

My mental images are safe for the most part. I've read the books straight through 3 times now so they're solidly entrenched, which is probably why I was so outspoken in the casting threads early on.

I still think Addy is wrong in just about every way physically(hopefully his performance can make up for it), and Bean was never high on my list (I imagined a [older, less pretty] Christian Bale type). Allen won't replace my image of Theon either, which is very -very- different facially. And tyrion will always be younger and fairer in my mind, with hints of Lannister peeking out from his malformed face that Dinklage just doesn't have. Dinklage is very talented, and obviously they're more limited with Tyrion than with others, but it seems they jumped the gun a bit by not casting a wider net. Momoa I'll have to see in makeup to decide, but it seems like they went with a good looking almost-white guy to make the Dany/Drogo scenes more palatable to the audience and that would be a shame. With a dark tan and black hair he gets pretty close though.

Just about everyone else is pretty close to how I pictured them (usually minus a decade or so), so they might sneak themselves in more as a solidification than a replacement to my original image.

[Lady Blackfish]

Except for Jennifer Ehle as Catelyn (whom I like), I agree with what you've said.

Your not alone. :-)

:) Of course sour grapes don't change much, so here's hoping for the best!

[Sekhmet]

http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e271/incognitia999/Askeaa.jpg

You know, for me, Boromir was kind of the unrecognizable Sean Bean character. So, if you've only seen Sean in LOTR, you have another think coming.

As I've said before, if you want to imagine Bean as Ned, go watch him as Aske in Henry XIII with Ray Winstone. I think you'll change your mind. Aske has the same severe honor and values that Ned has and it got him killed too :rolleyes:

[Ser_not_appearing_yet]

Yeah, most American fans have only really experienced Bean as Boromir. Personally I'm not worried, I've seen him in plenty of things and he has more than enough range for the part.

[Werthead]

Yeah, most American fans have only really experienced Bean as Boromir. Personally I'm not worried, I've seen him in plenty of things and he has more than enough range for the part.

Indeed. Ten years back he'd probably have been a shoe-in for Jaime rather than Ned, based on a combination of his performaces in GoldenEye, Lady Chatterly and Sharpe.

Henry XIII

Unlucky for some?

[Lady Blackfish]

American, and/but I actually loved the idea of a young Sean Bean for Jaime, which is why he is taking a while to settle into my idea of Ned.