Characters in tv/movie adaptations of books looking totally different

[HelloCheekyCat]

I have watched the first episode of Scarpetta having read pretty much all.of the Scarpetta books and the characters look totally different to the descriptions in the books. I know logically it doesn't matter but I don't like it 😆
See also Will Trent, the tv character is literally opposite looks wise to the book..
I love Harry potter because they look exactly as described in the books.
Does it bother anyone else?

I am scared to watch it because I loved the books, but I don't want to see Nicole Kidman with her scarily smooth egg face- devoid of any expression whatsoever- playing Kay.

One that really annoyed me was in The Night Watch (Sarah Waters) where Vivian is supposed to have very thick dark hair and be glamorous. And they had Jodie Whittaker playing her with a ginger wig.

Agatha Raisin really annoys me. Totally opposite from description in the books. So don't watch it.

Tom Cruise 5' 7" playing Jack Reacher, 6 ' 5"

Adaptations of historical events or classical literature where the characters have peroxide hair, microbladed eyebrows and lip fillers. Or they’re part of a mixed race family. I like historical accuracy, so shoot me, and a mixed race family would not be a family welcomed into high society with all the daughters being sought after by eligible bachelors

I've just looked that up and she's totally wrong. When I read the books Agatha was Imelda Staunton in my head.

The dark haired Ruth Wilson was a much better Mrs Coulter in His Dark Materials than Nicole Kidman, despite Nicole having the book accurate blond hair.

In Percy Jackson I think it makes visual sense that the greek demigod Percy is played by a blond curly haired Walker Scobell rather than a book accurate dark straight haired boy.

Dustin Hoffman apparently doesn't look like his book character in The Graduate but that's an iconic performance.

So I think if the performance is great then nobody cares about the appearance.

She isn't great unfortunately. When She was in that mini series with hugh grant someone on here described her as looking like she'd been embalmed and I can't unsee it
If I hadn't read the books I don't think I would have had a clue what was going on!

Descriptions of characters' appearances within books can also be 'wrong' and really off-putting. Often when a character first appears in a book, I form a mind's eye version of them before the author has had a chance to say that they have dark hair or a long nose or whatever, and then there will be an annoying dissonance all through the book, because they actually have blonde hair and a short nose.

Then when it comes to the film or TV version, an extra layer of dissonance is created. I held off from watching LOTR for as long as I could to avoid the film actors replacing the people in my head. Once I had seen the films I couldn't bring myself to re-read the books cos I didn't want that mimsy Frodo, or the buffoonish Sam, Merry, Pippin in my head. Or the elves with their enchanted hair straighteners, or soulful middle-distance-staring Aragorn.

Alex Hassell, while playing the part very well, does not look like Rupert Campbell-Black (Jilly Cooper’s Rivals).

Miss Climpson in the Edward Petherbridge Lord Peter Wimsey series. Too young, too attractive, too well dressed. Not how Miss Katherine Alexandra Climpson was supposed to look at all.

I wasn't mad keen on Harriet Walter as Harriet, either.

Joan Hickson of course was perfect as Miss Marple.

Approve of your username!

Most examples of Mrs Bennett too.

Brenda Blethyn was 20 years too old and Alison Steadman was a bit too old too.

I read the first Brigerton book prior to watching the tv series. It took me a while to get used to the mixed race casting, and I felt Daphne was too insipid compared to the book. Once I separated the book from the tv series, it was fine.

I saw that show too. Hugh Grant looked like her dad! Despite there being maybe 6 years between them.

I couldn’t watch Shetland on TV because of Douglas Henshall. Jimmy Perez was dark skinned, dark haired and dark eyed…his back story was all about being descended from shipwrecked Spanish seafarers.

Henshall could not have been further from the character as described. Drove me nuts.

David Suchet’s Poirot was perfect in every way except his eyes were brown not green, but I could forgive that because he was otherwise perfect in every way.

I loved Geraldine McEwan’s Miss Marple, even though she wasn’t really like the physical description in the books. I think she captured the rebellious spirit and mischief in Miss Marple that Joan Hickson was missing.

Don’t get me started on The girl with all the gifts, Melanie the girl is blond with white skin (necessary to the narrative) the teacher is the opposite, black with black hair, the filmed swapped them!!!!! It did not work.

Zoe Wanamaker as Mrs Oliver didn't really work for me either. She's supposed to be a large lady, with ever-changing hairstyles. Zoe was too petite.

(Ariadne should of course look exactly like Agatha Christie in middle age.)

It has been a while since I read the books, but for one thing, Young Kay looks barely old enough to have finished medical school, much less be the Chief Medical Examiner of Virginia.

Daisy Buchanan in The Great Gatsby is dark haired. Mia Farrow is blonde/strawberry blonde. Carey Mulligan is also blonde/fair. Although I’ve not seen that version. She looks totally wrong to me. Mia Farrow looks better despite the hair colour. More striking looking.

DCI Banks. Stephen Tompkinson is not Banks, he looks like nothing as described in the books. As an actor Tompkinson is more wooden than The Woodentops. I couldn't bear to watch a 2D person trying to act as a 3D character in a book.

I’ve never got over Toby Jones being cast as Roger Yount in the TV series of Capital.

Pierce Brosnan does not look (or sound) remotely like Ron in The Thursday Murder Club should.

Kevin Whately wasn't a bit like Lewis as written in the early Morse books. But in the later ones Colin Dexter did start writing Lewis as Kevin Whately.

@RedRec absolutely right!