Asha/"Yara"

[Maginor]

She isn't even ugly, and her physical attractiveness is not a bigger part of her character than Robert's tallness or Syrio's baldness was of theirs. You have no idea how the actress actually delivers a speech or talks about her axe. If you don't want the TV series to change the images in your head, don't watch it.

[Kyrenna]

I had the exact same reaction as the person starting this thread. Before I saw the trailer, I was really looking forward to 'meeting' Asha/Yara. Now, that glee has been reduced to 'try to stay neutral, you don't know how she'll fit in with the rest and you've never seen her act'.

I think especially the fitting in part is important: she might not be the Asha I imagined, but she may fit perfectly well into the tv interpretation of the Iron Islands. Which may or may not have the feel I have about that region. Doesn't matter. It's someone elses interpretation, and if I didn't want those, I'd not be on these forums either :)

[PestilencE]

Yes, horrible casting indeed.

My pity goes to all the people getting all overprotective on their GoT, denying that it is indeed a horrible casting.

[johnsomc]

I so can't wait for this actress to nail the performance so that most of you people vanish into the shadows with your preconceived notions and leaps to judgement. But don't worry...crow is delicious. You'll savor every mouthful.

[The hairy bear]

Asha however, her warrior look and her attractiveness are important.

Her attractiveness is important? Where does that come from? The only quotes describing Arya's looks I've been able to find in the books are those two:

Theon turned to give her an appraising glance. He liked what he saw. Ironborn, he knew at a glance; lean and longlegged, with black hair cut short, wind-chafed skin, strong sure hands, a dirk at her belt. Her nose was too big and too sharp for her thin face, but her smile made up for it.

The pimples went when the breasts came,” she explained while she tussled with a dog, “but I kept thevulture’s beak.”

I wouldn't say that, from Theon's description, we can infer that she is attractive: lean, chafed skin, and a huge nose.

I was really shocked at the failure with a character as vivid as Asha. How hard can it be to find a girl like that willing to stage awesome fight scenes and get naked?

I guess the problem is that. Some people don't want good actresses. They do not even want actresses that resemble the actual physical descriptions from the books. They just want naked hot chicks.

[_Oberyn_]

The shot killed my mental image of Asha too.

She doesn't look like a warrior at all.

And she's not attractive either.

I won't ever read the books the same way, now.

Damn you, whoever you are, responsible for the casting.

You made one only mistake in a two season perfect ensemble cast... and it had to be... Asha. It could have been plenty of characters I don't care about. But no, it had to be Asha.

Damn you.

PS : I still love you for the rest of the cast ;)

*cough* Renly *cough*

I know, they have done so well casting-wise, I was really shocked at the failure with a character as vivid as Asha. How hard can it be to find a girl like that willing to stage awesome fight scenes and get naked?

Although I will admit that Aeron Damphair looks a little pudgy. I reckon they are just striking out on the Greyjoys.

Not Aeron, but i think he could have been, loks great for the part.

I would rather wait to see how the actress is in the role of Asha/ Yara. Personally I am more bummed about the name change. It is like the producers

think the viewers are not smart enough to figure out the difference.

I agree.

[Pliskin]

Not Aeron, but i think he could have been, loks great for the part.

Yeah, the Not-really-Aeron looks great. Don't understand why they've chosen to replace the role with a common priest.

If it's because they don't want to take the risk of the actor not coming back for season 4, they can just recast him later if so... he has one scene, people will not remember him anyway.

[nara]

I would rather wait to see how the actress is in the role of Asha/ Yara. Personally I am more bummed about the name change. It is like the producers

think the viewers are not smart enough to figure out the difference.

I know I'm in the minority here, but I think it made sense to change the names. I LOVE the name Asha and the comparison that Theon makes with Osha. However, in movies and TV, names do not appear as frequently as they do in books, so viewers will not have as much opportunity to understand the difference between the 2 names. If they expected the viewership to be just fans of the books, it would be okay to leave it as Asha. However, with a broader audience, it made sense to change the names to avoid confusion. I do wish that they'd changed Osha and left Asha...

As for appearance, other characters have not been as beautiful/attractive as I expected from the books, but have nailed the role, in my mind. Examples include Cersei, Jaime, and Joffrey, for whom physical beauty is critical in establishing their characters' outlook on life. In those cases, I think they've done fantastic jobs with the roles even though they were not what I imagined.

[Maginor]

Yes, horrible casting indeed.

My pity goes to all the people getting all overprotective on their GoT, denying that it is indeed a horrible casting.

Who is overprotective? It seems like people are overprotective of their vision of the character instead of being able to enjoy a different interpretation. I pity you for not getting to enjoy the tv series as much as I do :)

[Sarnius]

PEOPLE; http://media.avclub.com/images/articles/article/59/59909/gemma_jpg_627x325_crop_upscale_q85.jpg

SHE LOOKS FINE.

[Drogon's Personal Trainer]

Help! Sorry, guys - another one I don't give a stuff about. Loathed her in the books and therefore I remain indifferent to whoever plays her in the series.

[DornishKnight]

[EDIT] http://www.hostingpi...37850fdswqd.jpg

Is that Victarion on the far left?

[boojam]

Is that Victarion on the far left?

It's a mystery, does not look like Dagmer Cleftjaw ...

[Sound_of_winter]

She looks exactly like what i pictured her.

[Zeromus]

I'm sure she'll be fine. Asha is hardly a complex character.

[Chalkius Stark]

She doesn't fit my mental image of Asha to be honest, I imagined her(rightly or wrongly) to be taller, with more pointed features, with more of a fierce look. Though I guess we'll see if she can act the part, even if I don't feel she looks it. Plenty of people in the series aren't how they're described. Jorah isn't meant to be good looking, Robert is meant to be 7 foot tall and enormously fat rather than 5'10 and fairly fat. Natalie Dormer isn't even close to being a teenager. Dinklage isn't ugly like Tyrion is described. So I'll give Gemma the benefit of the doubt till I've seen her act.

[Raylan Stark]

Pfft. He may be right. and I'd be happy to admit that although she doesn't fit the bill to me at all, she proved me wrong.

But...

What did you expect him to say? "She sucked, but she was all we had to work with?"

[hint]

Asha being one of my favorite characters in whole series, I too was intially very suprised when I saw the first images from trailers with her. Not really what i expected, but supposedly she is acting wise been really good and has nailed the role, so all good. I think mayhaps they took more freedrom casting Asha since they already had changed the name to Yara as well - no Asha then no need to have 100% appearance to books?

Anyways to johnomc, I've only seen her on few trailer clips and pics, but I don't even remember what exactly Asha looked like in my mind when i read the books by now(all i remember is that it was different). Now when I think of Asha, only thing that pops to my head is that cute portrait picture of Gemma Whelan in black backround(i guess the trailer clips were tad too short to get stuck in my head yet). So yes, I think it is fair to assess that after seeing a character played visually majority will imagine him/her the same when reading :P

[Ran]

A: That one glimpse in the trailer doesn't do her justice. She's cute, and personally Asha's looks aren't incredible in the novels -- she's no great beauty; it's her attitude that sells it.

B: Having seen the first four episodes, Gemma is great in the role. She plays it in a rather more restrained way than in the novel -- Asha's obvious brashness is toned down --but she gives the character a good deal of intrigue and charisma.

C: Finally, the forum isn't a place for people to go around insulting one another, and we expressly note that sometimes actors from the show read the forum and so we should act in that light, so chill out folks. Please refer to the rules for a concise look at what to do and what not to do. And if you think someone's not abiding by them? There's a report button to let the moderators know.

[Raylan Stark]

See... that's what I feared by her casting. It's not just the look (which is all wrong. Not a comment on her attractiveness at all. I agree she's cute. Asha isn't "cute." She's tall, lean, and mean. Hawkish features. I always pictured a young, less "glamor model pretty" version of someone like Joan Severance).

But it's her brashness that sells it. She's fierce. Gemma's look just implies soft. That's not meant to be an insult, just a perception. So if they've restrained her, they may as well have renamed her because it just. isn't. Asha.

I'm sure she'll be likeable. I'm not doubting that she'll have charisma. And I'm sure she'll have a charming sense of humor. But that's still not the character we know. It's someone called "Yara."

Give me my ass-kicking, can hang with the boys and put them to shame, in your face Asha.