How the TV series affected your perception of the characters' physical appearance?

[bloodymime]

REEEEAAALLY, no kidding!?!?! Quote please!

she isn't in the books.

You're welcome.

[the Scorpion Knight]

Intrestingly it isn't the appearence that changed when I read the boks its the voices

[Bear Knight of House Cole]

I watched one episode of the first season and went and found the books and read them so the images were set for the most part i guess. However in the books it is mentioned that the Lannisters of Casterly Rock have curly golden locks and the Lannisters of Lannisport have straight golden locks.

[facetree]

No one looked like what I imagined, but that usually happens.

[ghost the direwolf]

thank the seven I had a better picture in my head of Stannis , Mel, and Margeary. I was let down by the TV show this season. Thank the seven i do not see their face when I do my re-read.

i started reading the books after season one.almost every major character had got the face of the Tv actor when I read the books except Cersei and Dany My Cercei is more like a charlise theron ( spelling sorry)in Snow white and the hunt-man beautiful but deadly. Mel I pictured her to look like Hathor in Stargate SG1

[gougef]

The audiobooks affected me more than the TV show.

[ermireallydontcare]

I totally agree with people's disappointment in TV Margaery. I know many of the younger characters got aged up, but I think she suffered worse for it. I pictured Margaery as looking quite sweet and innocent, while TV Margaery looks like a schemer. (The Tyrells are schemers, but the idea is that Margaery looks like a sweet innocent 'maid')

[l3ol3o]

I think the best casting, although it was a small role, related to the image in my mind was/is Walder Frey (David Bradley). Perfect. His scene was one of the highlights of the year for me. Looking forward to seeing him again, kind of.

I agree, I forgot all about him but I actually had David Bradley in my mind in the books. He really was perfect for him.

[l3ol3o]

Since I saw season one before reading the books, most of the actors took the place of the characters for me. It was season 2 that altered my perception of some of the characters since I read the books before it came out.

The first one was Melisandre for me. Honestly, I pictured her as east Asian and not at all Caucasian looking. Actress Gong Li was my mental picture of Melisandre except with red hair and eyes. I still think Carice van Houton is doing a fine job and plays her so convincing that she replaced my original image of Mel.

The other one for me was Margaery. This is obviously because of the age difference. She was much younger in my mind and much more, I don't know, adolescent looking. Natalie Dormer is freaking awesome, though, and now she is Marg in my head which is fine by me because the expanded role of Margaery is season 2 was one of my favorite changes the show made.

Also, Jaqen. Now I just imagine him 10000 times hotter that I did in my head because Tom Wlaschiha is one sexy man beast. Yum. :smileysex:

Ya Melisandre I pictured much more exotic and younger. Same with Stannis. They are both too old I think.

Rose Leslie is also way to good looking to be Ygritte. Jon didn't seem to attracted to her at first and couldn't understand why all the men liked her so much b/c of her red hair. Ygritte on the show is very hot imo. If I was Jon in the show when she was teasing him about a vagina being wet and warm, I would be taking my clothes off that instant.

Jaqen is also much better looking then I pictured. This makes sense to me though. If you could choose any face, would you pick someone good looking most of the time? He also had redish hair in the show, not half red and half white.

Margaery is also a terrible cast imo. I like Natalie Dormer a lot but she is 30, not 15 like book Margaery. I understand HBO wanted her to show her boobs and try to convert Renly from penis to vagina but they could have found someone who was 18 or 19. I just can't picture Margaery with Tommen later in the series. She is WAY too old, especially for those times. I pictured Margaery like Sansa but smarter and a little prettier. If you watched the Tutors like I have you probably already have Natalie Dormer stuck in your head playing Anne Bolin.

[Lady No One]

I also saw season one before reading the books. I was shocked at how young the Stark kids are in the books and pretty much just substitute the hbo versions in my mind when reading.

Brienne is much more attractive on the show than I pictured but I think it works. Melissandre is about what I pictured. Ygritte I pictured with wilder hair and more crooked teeth, but whatever.

Stannis and Tywin are better looking than I pictured but again, whatever.

The ones that bugme the most are Gendry, Margaery, and Yara/Asha.

Gendry is way too old on the show. It doesn't work at all with the implied romantic tension in the books. Margaery is also way too old. She worked fine paired with Renly and is even acceptable paired with Joffrey. But how in the world is she supposed to marry Tommen? That is just creepy. And Asha/Yara on the show is just gross. I don't see why Theon ever was attracted to her before finding out she was his sister.

That being said, as actors I think they are all doing a great job. They just don't correspond to what I pictured from the books.

[Silmarien]

I wonder how people who were familiar with the books before the series faced this process. Did you enjoy the casting or got frustrated, specifically in terms of appearance? How did the TV series affected your perceptions afterwards?

I for one started to read the books after the first season premiere, so it was impossible to me to stick with the books characterization. Ned Stark IS Sean Bean, the Starks' children are the actors and so on...

P.S. Although I mention the TV series on the title, the thread is specifically focused on readers.

I watched half the first season before I started the books (BLASPHEMY I know...), so I did have certain actors in mind for AGoT. But not for ACoK, ASoS, or ADwD.

[Lord Elrosir]

Amusingly enough, even before any sign of the series was in sight, I imagined Ned as...Boromir.

Seriously. I didn't know (nor care for) the name of the actor, but Ned always looked like an older Boromir for me. (Although I imagined him to look a wee bit older than he did in the series.)

Sean Bean did play Boromir...

[TheHoodedLady]

1) Same here with Margaery. I imagined here younger and more "innocent".

2) Ned was absolutely perfect in every detail for me.

3) I wasn't really able to imagine Brienne and Tyrion being that ugly so I just decided to stick to their tv portrayals.

[Currawong]

Dinklage is obviously much better looking than Book Tyrion, but I hardly expected them to be able to cast a guy with crazy hair and mismatched eyes lol, and Dinklage is so awesome that he's overtaken Book Tyrion in my mind.

If you go back and read some of the comments on the original casting for the series, you will see that there were only two roles where D & D and GRRM himself totally agreed on the right actors for the parts right from the beginning. GRRM of course is heavily involved in casting decisions.

One was Sean Bean for Ned. (They auditioned a couple of other people just in case he wasn't able to take on the role because of other commitments, but he was 100% their first choice.)

The other was Peter Dinklage for Tyrion. They didn't audition anyone else.

So if GRRM himself saw Peter as Tyrion, regardless of his looks, then that's good enough for me!!

[Chaircat Meow]

If you go back and read some of the comments on the original casting for the series, you will see that there were only two roles where D & D and GRRM himself totally agreed on the right actors for the parts right from the beginning. GRRM of course is heavily involved in casting decisions.

One was Sean Bean for Ned. (They auditioned a couple of other people just in case he wasn't able to take on the role because of other commitments, but he was 100% their first choice.)

The other was Peter Dinklage for Tyrion. They didn't audition anyone else.

So if GRRM himself saw Peter as Tyrion, regardless of his looks, then that's good enough for me!!

I think GrrM just sees him as the best person to play Tyrion, he doesn't think he actually looks like Tyrion (GrrM has said he doesn't). I think people in the books do react to Tyrion in such a way as to suggest he really is pretty ugly.

[Artanys]

I have to say Melisandre didn't do it for me, Carice is a decent actress but she isn't menacing or exotic enough. If Asshai was really close to Westeros I could understand the culture being a little more similar but the books make it clear it is very different. TBH I picture Yi Ti corresponding to Eastern Asia and Melisandre's people having more of a slightly Middle Eastern look like so.

Then there's the astute but ever-so-innocent Margaery who should be played by someone like this. For the show they hired a good actress that was wrong for the part, Dormer is rather plain looking and her calculating nature is too obvious.

[Royce Bolton]

I have to say Melisandre didn't do it for me, Carice is a decent actress but she isn't menacing or exotic enough. If Asshai was really close to Westeros I could understand the culture being a little more similar but the books make it clear it is very different. TBH I picture Yi Ti corresponding to Eastern Asia and Melisandre's people having more of a slightly Middle Eastern look like so.

Then there's the astute but ever-so-innocent Margaery who should be played by someone like this. For the show they hired a good actress that was wrong for the part, Dormer is rather plain looking and her calculating nature is too obvious.

I must admit, I pictured her as a smoking hot Persian lady...

[Royce Bolton]

I have to say Melisandre didn't do it for me, Carice is a decent actress but she isn't menacing or exotic enough. If Asshai was really close to Westeros I could understand the culture being a little more similar but the books make it clear it is very different. TBH I picture Yi Ti corresponding to Eastern Asia and Melisandre's people having more of a slightly Middle Eastern look like so.

Then there's the astute but ever-so-innocent Margaery who should be played by someone like this. For the show they hired a good actress that was wrong for the part, Dormer is rather plain looking and her calculating nature is too obvious.

Dormer is plain looking? I gotta move to where you live.

[What Is Dead Already Died]

Roose Bolton. Cannot stand the shows version of him. I always pictured him being smooth and cold, the tv show put way to much emotion in.

[Chaircat Meow]

Roose Bolton. Cannot stand the shows version of him. I always pictured him being smooth and cold, the tv show put way to much emotion in.

I agree, he is a bit shouty. I don't think he is too bad though.