[BOOK SPOILERS] Favourite/least favourite characters in GoT TV-series?

[Arya The Assassin]

For those who've read the books: Which character do you like the most? Which character do you find less interesting compared to the books? I'm not talking solely about how faithfully the character has been adapted, but primarily in terms of performance.

Here's my list of favourite characters:

Arya:

I think Arya was one of the most fascinating characters in the books, and Maisie Williams has done such a great job bringing her character to life. She's definitely one of the most interesting characters in the series so far. In fact, I think all the child-actors have been well cast, although Williams is a standout. Casting kids or younger actors can be very difficult (they often lack experience or skill and their acting is either very flat or exaggerated), so kudos to the producers/directors/casting directors for pulling this off.

Jon Snow:

I wasn't particularly interested in this character in the books, but Kit Harington has managed to really draw my attention towards his character. I think primarily this is because of his excellent performance. He's low-key but very natural. You get the sense that he's burdened (since he's a bastard), yet highly determined, and he only seems to brighten up when he's together with Arya.

Eddard Stark:

It's crucial that the director/casting directors get this lead character right, but Sean Bean's stoic, firm but also warm portrayal of Ned is spot on. A 'lesser' or a miscast actor could easily have made Ned much less captivating than he really is.

Tyrion Lannister:

Peter Dinklage was a complete unknown to me prior to watching GoT. But so far he's turned out to be one of the best characters in the series. I remember that his character was great in the novels as well, but you can't take it for granted that the screen adaptation will go that smoothly.

In the books, Daenerys was one of my favourite characters, but so far in the show I've found her plot to be less interesting (but far from boring, though). Initially I wasn't too ecstatic about Emilia Clarke (she didn't quite look the way I'd expected and she seemed a bit passive), but I think this will change later as her character becomes stronger and more self-confident.

The Danish actor Nikolaj Coster-Waldau does a good job as Jamie Lannister. My only criticism has mostly to do with his looks: He looks almost too 'clean' and handsome. But he obviously knows how to act and it's not difficult to dislike his character. His face seemed very familiar, and after checking on IMDB it turns out that he's appeared in two Ridley Scott movies: Kingdom of Heaven and Black Hawk Down.

I think the main cast in GoT is doing an excellent job. In another thread I wrote that (in my opinion) the acting overall (including support/secondary roles) ranged from average to excellent, but after watching a few episodes of other popular shows such as Spartacus, I was reminded of how good the acting in GoT really is.

[Ser Yberon]

The casting people for the series have got it bang on with the characters. When I first heard about Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as Jaime I thought he isn't handsome enough, but he's looking pretty spot on in the actual role. I also thought the same about Lena Headey as Cersei. But both of them are spot on so far.

My actual favorite characters in the series though - hands down Arya followed by Tyrion. Both small, both mischeivious, both perfectly cast, both brilliant. BOTH HIT JOFFREY!!!!!!

Ned, Dany, and Jon all well acted too. But Tyrion and Arya - Brilliant. I think with Maisie Williams they have actually improved on how I imagined Arya to be. Like when she beat Bran at archery - fantastic, and then flicking food at Sansa in the banquet hall, these tiny little acts have built up her character well even though she didn't say anything.

Not too sure about the Hound right now, coz he doesn't fit how I imagined him, for some reason I missed the fact that he had long dark hair combed over his scars. I always pictured him as shaved head and not with prominent teeth. Although he is huge I always pictured him as stockier than Rory McCann actually is. Just imagined him as more brawny.

One other gripe is that I always imagined Robert Baratheon to have short hair too. Other than that HBO have done splendidly with the imagining of the books so far.

[JewBear]

I agree with you guys. Arya and Tyrion are amazing. Peter Dinklage, although a fair shot comelier than the Tyrion i imagined, is terrific. The mannerisms, bearing and attitude he brings to Tyrion are spot on for me. I'm watching it with my friend who hasn't read the series but he finds Tyrion the best character as well, because he brings the laughter.

Arya has been given alot of characterisation by the writers as well. The little details like Ser Stixian said make her character one of the most enjoyable and deep, especially in the latest episode where she starts sword practice.

Small issues with the Hound as well. He's not scary enough in my opinion. He hasn't had much screen time i know, but in episode two he didn't come across as evil and terrifying as you imagine him to be.

Petyr Baelish was introduced in the latest episode and i'm keen to hear what others make of him, because i'm still undecided.

[Iotun]

I like all the actors!!! Rather than their acting, I have some small issues with how some have been portrayed by the script writers - the Hound doesn't get enough screen time, and is far too tame, and Illyrio doesn't seem fat enough. Another small gripe is that Sansa seems older than Joffry... I find it a bit weird that she'd be so attracted to him - I can't fault her acting, but I think they should have picked a slightly shorter girl, just to make her look more girlish... Other than that - Tyrion should be uglier, though again, can't fault the acting - Cat should be younger and more good looking... But to be honest, these are all minor points, and they're as you say, points as to how faithfully the character has been adapted rather than performance. In all honestly, faithfulness is not as important, if the characters make sense and stand on their own. They can even improve on the original.

ETA: Actually there is one problem I have with all the actors, and that is their accent! They are far too strong, and actually give a 'cheap' feel to the whole thing. This is in fact one of the 2 things that I find as the biggest weakness in the show (the other is the music, which I hate).

[valacirca]

I thought that for the most part, the casting choices were superb. The only miscast imo was Catelyn. I feel that she comes across as a little bit too timid and I imagined her to look around a decade younger than she appears in the series.

Arya and Tyrion seem to be the most spot-on so far. I love them both in the book and on TV.

EDIT: Now that the poster above me mentioned it, Joffrey seems to be slightly miscast as well. He appears to be the actor with the least acting talent in the entire show and doesn't seem to be nearly as dashing as he should be. He gives off this Draco Malfoy type of vibe.

[Manakhkubar]

ETA: Actually there is one problem I have with all the actors, and that is their accent! They are far too strong, and actually give a 'cheap' feel to the whole thing. This is in fact one of the 2 things that I find as the biggest weakness in the show (the other is the music, which I hate).

I don't understand that statement. Who are you talking about? Syrio? The only actors with (incorrectly) heavy accents are the ones playing Tyrion and Robb.

[Iotun]

I don't understand that statement. Who are you talking about? Syrio? The only actors with (incorrectly) heavy accents are the ones playing Tyrion and Robb.

They sound too old-style-English to me (I don't know if that's an actual accent, but that's how I feel!). I find there's no reason for it given that Westeros is a fantastical realm, and seems too cliche for me.

[Manakhkubar]

They sound too old-style-English to me (I don't know if that's an actual accent, but that's how I feel!). I find there's no reason for it given that Westeros is a fantastical realm, and seems too cliche for me.

Really? They sound absolutely contemporary-English to me. The only issue I had would be that the Starks have a rather wide range of dialects within their family (all of them contemporary, none of them old-style).

[Chalky]

No love for Mark Addy's performance thus far?

[valacirca]

^ Whoa I totally did not recognize the guy from Full Monty as Robert Baratheon.

He does a straight and solid, faultless portrayal of the King as written in the Book. Pretty much how I imagined it: Sort of Henry VIII-ish. The only reason I don't mention him in my earlier post is that while it is a solid job, it doesn't standout and my favorite scenes (or moments in the book) so far don't have him in it.

[Songlian]

Which character do you like the most?

Harry Lloyd as Viserys Targaryen. I'm in awe with the dude's performance.

(with plenty of other people as honorable mentions)

Which character do you find less interesting compared to the books?

All of them are interesting and, as far as I can tell, the acting is top notch. Lena Headey is playing a slightly different Cersei than what I imagined, but that is not to say I'm disappointed with her.

[Gargantuanjon Old Chap]

Arya and Viserys are absolutely amazing.

Don't like Catelyn particularly much, I felt like their original choice (Jennifer Ehle?) suited the role much better.

[Knight Of The North]

Favourite:

Robert Baratheon and Jorah Mormont are absolutely amazing, both for their performances and their scenes. When Jorah is explaining Westerosi War Doctrine to Jhoso (I think?), he has that look of professionalism and subtle reminiscence that I always associated with him. Mark Addy simply dominates as Robert; it reminds me why I truly was saddened when the Oedipus Rex bunked it. He has his flaws, but he's deep down a damn fine bloke, forced into a situation that just doesn't suit him. Addy pulls that off better than anyone ever could.

Least Interesting compared to the Books:

Cersei. That stupid wig gets in the way for my immersion like NOTHING else.

[Bronn is God]

The Hound, Bronn, Viserys (this one is a surprise, they guy is really convincing)

[Pinkyfinger]

Does King Robert have the best voice or what?

[Arya The Assassin]

I think with Maisie Williams they have actually improved on how I imagined Arya to be. Like when she beat Bran at archery - fantastic, and then flicking food at Sansa in the banquet hall, these tiny little acts have built up her character well even though she didn't say anything.

I fully agree. She can be cute and adorable, yet temperamental, stubborn and mischievous. She was great in episode 3.

Someone here said that they didn't like the accents, but I personally have no problem with that. To my Scandinavian ears they sound mostly British. I'm just glad they don't have thick American accents :) (there's nothing wrong with American accents per se, I just don't think it suits a medieval/fantasy TV-series such as GoT).

EDIT: I forgot to mention that I liked Lena's performance better in episode 3. I thought she was a bit too low-key in the first episodes, but this time her performance had that extra energy and 'edge' to it.

[Xenophon]

I really can't pick favorite or least favorite characters (the ensemble cast is too good for that), so I'll stick to which characters I think are better or worse than in the book.

Better:

Viserys Let's face it, he was pretty 2-dimensional in the novel. Harry Lloyd deserves an award for the work he's doing bring this character to life.

Robert IMO, TV-Robert is a deeper and more tragic figure than book-Robert, and it's almost entirely due to Addy's masterful performance. He mixes just the right amount of self-loathing and regret into every line he delivers.

Cersei I know some people don't like the new Cersei, but I think it's great. Her poisonous relationship with Robert both makes her more sympathetic and also helps explain her interactions with her own family. Again, it only works because Lena Headey is doing a great job showing the audience how scarred her character really is.

Worse:

No major characters. But if I had to pick, I'd say All the Dothraki except Drogo. I know they were pretty much stock-characters in the book too, but somehow seeing them on screen makes it worse. And the foreign language makes it hard for the actors to do much with them. Jason Momoa deserves major praise for job he's doing.

[NW Deserter]

So hard to pick just one...list time! And these will just be based off the TV characters.

Favorites

1. Arya. Maisie Williams is turning out to be one of those "diamond in the rough" child actors, she is stealing every single scene. I'm convinced that they built a machine to extract characters directly from the text, and she was the perfect prototype.

2. Ned. Bean's portrayal is a bit more warm and badass than I expected, but it works extremely well onscreen.

3. Robert. He goes from sympathetic to hate-able and back again so effortlessly.

4. Jaime. Captures the smug arrogance, the bold rashness, and the ability to barely hide his hatred of the king that I think defines the Jaime Lannister from the books.

5. Viserys. This spot was actually a tossup between Dany and Viserys, because they're both playing their parts so well - but I'll give it to the guy who won't be with us much longer.

6. Jorah. Almost forgot to put him in, but I think the actor deserves it. Incredible performance so far, especially in last night's episode.

Least Favorites

1. Cersei. Something about Lena Headey's portrayal just isn't working for me...though she does have a chance to redeem herself over the course of the season, particularly if her meeting with Ned turns out to be as good a conversation as it was in the books.

2. Littlefinger. Same thing as Cersei, but I put him lower on the list because he's only had one episode of screen time.

3. Ghost. He seems to be avoiding the camera. :angry2:

Obviously, I think there is little to hate about the casting (though there are some very minor roles whose casting has completely baffled me, such as Ilyn Payne and Lancel Lannister). There have also been some awesomely portrayed roles that just popped up recently (Varys comes to mind), but these were beaten out by the cast members that we've spent more time with.

[Dondarrion]

Favorites:

Tyrion Lannister: Peter Dinklage has been brilliant, stealing each scene as Tyrion must and can, capturing the decadence and decency that comprise Tyrion.

Arya: Nicely done.

Jorah Mormont: Surprisingly well cast. Not familiar with the actor, but I'm quite impressed.

Benjen Stark: A shame we won't be seeing any more of him. Perfect for the role.

Least favorite:

Lancel: Can you see Cersei getting tagged by that? Me neither. He looks about 12.

Renly: Not pretty enough. Not gallant enough. Not yet, at least. We haven't seen much of him, so he has time.

Catelyn: Too shrewish and old for the part, sad to say. Catelyn was a mix of beauty and steel in the books.

Of note:

Ned Stark: Would it have been so hard to dye his hair dark brown to match Ned Stark in the books? It's not merely cosmetic. It was symbolic, in that Arya and Jon were the only ones with dark coloring like Ned, and I think those who read the books too many times get why that's significant. Sean Bean is perfect for this role -- but for that.

Cersei: Nice that they took the reins off a bit in the 3rd episode, but something's missing. There's not enough fire to go with this ice, and Cersei was always both. But I do love Lena Headey, so I'm patiently waiting for the good stuff.

Jaime: He may be missing the charisma I picture Jaime as having.

[Brod007]

I agree with you guys. Arya and Tyrion are amazing. Peter Dinklage, although a fair shot comelier than the Tyrion i imagined, is terrific. The mannerisms, bearing and attitude he brings to Tyrion are spot on for me. I'm watching it with my friend who hasn't read the series but he finds Tyrion the best character as well, because he brings the laughter.

Arya has been given alot of characterisation by the writers as well. The little details like Ser Stixian said make her character one of the most enjoyable and deep, especially in the latest episode where she starts sword practice.

Small issues with the Hound as well. He's not scary enough in my opinion. He hasn't had much screen time i know, but in episode two he didn't come across as evil and terrifying as you imagine him to be.

Petyr Baelish was introduced in the latest episode and i'm keen to hear what others make of him, because i'm still undecided.

Also not sure about Peter Baelish yet, would love to see more. But did like the Hound, I'm sure we will see some scariness soon.

Liked Syrio as well, great scene with Arya!!