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Adaptational Attractiveness / Live-Action TV

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Examples of Adaptational Attractiveness in live-action television.

TV series with their own pages:

Straight examples

  • The Addams Family:
    • Gomez. In the original illustrations, he's a pretty gross-looking dude: short, pudgy, crooked teeth, stringy hair, pencil mustache, and a face permanently in a half-lidded sneer. In the TV show, he's played by John Astin, who's at worst average-looking and definitely a lot more lively and approachable than Gomez's illustration. The movies continued the trend with Raúl Juliá, who outright complained in his heyday about being typecast as a Latin Lover.
    • The comics' Morticia has a gaunt face and is described as a "ruined beauty." The series gives us the lovely Carolyn Jones. In the movies, Anjelica Huston, while somewhat less traditionally beautiful than Jones and looking more like she does in the comics, is also more stunning than the comic version.
    • Wednesday in the original looks like a complete dork with a big bean-shaped head and beady eyes, while Lisa Loring's TV version is a conventionally cute kid. This also applies to her movie actress Christina Ricci, though Ricci brings a creepy edge to the character with her near-constant glower.
    • Pugsley and Lurch are both mostly unchanged, but in the comics, Pugsley has "popped" eyes and Lurch has one blank white eye; neither of these is present in the show.
  • Alex Rider (2020): Eva Stellenbosch in the book was a champion weightlifter described as extremely ugly and borderline monstrous in appearance. The most flattering description is "like a man in drag" and she's explicitly compared to King Kong. In the series, she's played by Ana Ularu. invokedWord of God says this is because it was considered more interesting if she was intimidating for psychological rather than physical reasons.
  • Arrowverse
    • Arrow
    • Black Lightning: Tobias Whale is far slimmer than his comic counterpart, who is morbidly obese and resembles an albino version of The Kingpin.
    • The Flash (2014): Captain Cold is played by the very yummy-looking Wentworth Miller. They may have gotten the idea from the New 52 version of Cold, who was reimagined as a White-Haired Pretty Boy before Forever Evil (2013) brought him closer to his classic look.
    • Supergirl (2015):
      • In most comics, James "Jimmy" Olsen is nerdy and awkward. In this series, he's portrayed by former model Mehcad Brooks. This version is meant to be Older and Wiser, granted, but check out those abs.
      • Mr. Mxyzptlk is generally depicted as a 3' tall imp with a massive head and a bowler hat. His show version does that away and has him played by a British hunk instead. Justified as he assumed a more handsome form in order to woo Supergirl. It's downplayed when he returns in Season 5, since he is portrayed by an average looking actor, but even then he is still more attractive than his comic-book appearance.
      • In the comics, Reign the Worldkiller is an alien warrior who resembles a female version of Doomsday. Here, she's the Superpowered Evil Side of Samantha Arias and is still played by Odette Annable.
      • Otis, in Superman: The Movie is Luthor's pudgy, bumbling assistant who can’t seem to do anything right, portrayed by Ned Betty. Compare to his lean and muscular Arrowverse counterpart, who, while still not very bright, is far more threatening.
  • In the 1980s CBS series Beauty and the Beast, Vincent was made to look beastly with heavy makeup and a long mane of hair. In the 2012 CW reboot, Vincent is given a monstrous alternate form a la the Incredible Hulk, but the majority of the time he's onscreen his appearance is that of a normal human man with a thin scar on one cheek—and he loses the scar after Season 1.
  • Brave New World: Bernard, Lenina and Linda are quite a bit more good-looking than their book counterparts are described as.
  • In Brideshead Revisited, Charles' narration describes the adult Cordelia as very unattractive, even ugly. In the mini-series, the actress has bad skin and an unflattering haircut, but is still quite attractive.
  • Bridgerton:
    • The Daphne Bridgerton of the books is described as an unconventional beauty. Phoebe Dynevor plays her as the ideal Regency belle — a "diamond of the first water" — and she is treated as such by everyone around her.
    • Similarly, the Kate Sheffield of the books is not supposed to be especially beautiful to anyone but Anthony, with Edwina the clear beauty of the family. Though the show raises Kate Sharma's age from 21 to 26 — making her an Old Maid by Regency standards and thus an unlikely candidate for marriage — it also does not make any attempt to pretend that her actress, Simone Ashley, is anything less than stunningly beautiful.
  • John le Carré's go-to spymaster, George Smiley, is described in Call for the Dead as short, plump, and always wearing ill-fitting clothes so he resembles a "shrunken toad". The BBC miniseries and 2011 film of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy cast Alec Guinness and Gary Oldman, respectively.
  • The Boys (2019):
  • The Casual Vacancy, the BBC miniseries adaptation of the book, Howard Mollison is not as overweight, Obbo is a muscular thug instead of looking like he's homeless, and Maureen's appearance is improved as well.
  • Sugar, the subversion of the Hooker with a Heart of Gold trope in the novel The Crimson Petal and the White by Michael Faber is gaunt, long-faced and plain with a terrible skin condition. Sugar in the BBC miniseries adaptation is played by Romola Garai, because viewers will clearly not be able to comprehend that Sugar's sexual charisma comes from her personality rather than her physical appearance.
  • In the Dirk Gently novels, Dirk Gently is described as overweight and rather odd looking. In the short-lived television series, he's considerably more attractive.
    • The BBC America adaptation makes the BBC4 adaptation look restrained. Dirk is now a male model in a yellow jacket, and Richard is the gorgeously blue-eyed Elijah Wood.
  • In the Discworld series "Nobby" Nobbs is described as so incredibly ugly that he has to carry a certificate (a letter from the Patrician) to prove he's human. In the Hogfather mini-series, he's played by a slightly overweight, slightly bucktoothed man. He strangely looks more like the description of the series' Fred Colon.
    • There is an element of Pragmatic Adaptation here, in that a Nobbs fitting the books' description would require (to quote the Hogfather page) "heavy-duty CGI, enough makeup to cover the actor, a full-body suit, or hiring a chimpanzee and dubbing in his lines". This might also have viewers unfamiliar with the books actually wondering what species he's meant to be - not without a certificate.
    • Actually inverted with female werewolf Angua von Überwald in the 2010 Going Postal series while Ingrid Bolsø Berda is by no means ugly, she’s done up to look supernatural with pale skin and shadows under her eyes. Which is a far cry from the shining beauty of the books◊.
  • Doom Patrol (2019):
    • Downplayed with Mr. Nobody, who is still an abstract and formless being, but at least has part of a human-looking face after his transformation.
    • This continuity's interpretation of Mr. 104 is portrayed by the handsome Sendhil Ramamurthy, when his comic counterpart was a gray-haired creep who was wrinkly and shifty-looking.
  • In The Dresden Files books, Ancient Mai is a 400-year-old Senior Council wizard described as tiny, fragile-looking, and ancient even by the long-lived wizards' standards, albeit still possessed of an eerie beauty. In the live-action series, she's played by a 28-year-old Elizabeth Thai.
  • Sherlock is portrayed by Jonny Lee Miller in Elementary. He's certainly more attractive than described in the books and is a Chick Magnet.
  • In Emerald City, the Wicked Witches of the East and West aren't old crones like in the book and are portrayed by younger actresses.
  • Brazilian sitcom Escolinha do Professor Raimundo saw a revival in 2015 with old characters now played by other actors. Given most of the cast were comedy veterans (with the age group that implies), a few ended up looking much better, such as a Kavorka Man now played by a soap opera star◊ (making his claims to be beautiful less ironic and more boastful). Still, in spite of the frog-faced puritan being played by a better looking, two decades younger actress◊ (who incidentally, played the original portrayer on stage), she was still target of "you're hideous" jokes.
  • Fallout (2024) does this to "The Ghoul" compared to the ghouls of the games. In the games, his kind are depicted as zombie-like monstrosities with rotting flesh, sunken eyes, exposed skull, decayed teeth and lipless mouth. In contrast, besides his missing nose and baldness, "The Ghoul" looks like a unscarred human with normal eyes, teeth and lips. Even his burned skin merely looks aged and leathery instead of rotten or disfigured. Several other ghouls with more minor roles vacillate in terms of attractiveness, although the feral ones by and large are much more conventionally zombie-like, with one in particular being severely burnt with empty eye sockets and an exposed skull.
  • From Dusk Till Dawn does this to the character of Richie Gecko, who was played by Quentin Tarantino in the original movie, but in the series he's played by a former male model Zane Holtz.
  • If artwork is anything to go by, samurai Uesugi Kenshin was rugged, large and hairy. In the TV drama Fuurin Kazan Uesugi Kenshin was played by Bishōnen rock star GACKT, who looked even prettier than most of the female cast◊. This is especially noticeable since the other actors actually resemble the large, grizzled warlords they are playing.
  • The Girls in Love series by Jacqueline Wilson describes heroine Ellie as a chubby, awkward girl worried about her weight, glasses and frizzy hair, who feels self-conscious next to her pretty friends Magda and Nadine. This is an important part of her characterization, with a whole book focusing on her almost developing an eating disorder. So what happened in the TV adaptation? Ellie was played by Olivia Hallinan, a thin, pretty girl (more conventionally "pretty" than the actresses playing Magda and Nadine), with the character having hang-ups about her red hair rather than her weight.
  • This◊ is how the author of Gormenghast drew Straw Nihilist Steerpike. This◊ is what his actor looked like in the BBC serial.
    • His looks do disintegrate somewhat towards the end, what with the scarring and everything but admittedly, he still doesn't look nearly as ugly as he should.
  • In the Gossip Girl books, Jenny Humphrey is a sweet, artistic girl whose main source of anxiety is that she is short, brunette and busty — unlike her tall, slender blond idol, Serena VanDerWoodsen. Who do they cast to play her in the TV series? Tall, slender blond Taylor Momsen. The producers didn't know that fourteen-year-old Taylor Momsen would grow so tall, but they sure knew she was blond, skinny, and looked nothing like the character in the books. They also changed her character so she really idolised Blair Waldorf... who is short, brunette and beautiful.
  • Gotham:
    • Harvey Bullock in the comics is an overweight slob who constantly appeared at work in disheveled clothes. This is all toned down considerably for the show, where he's played by a bearded and pudgy Donal Logue, who does not dress fashionably but does sport a snazzy hat.
    • The Penguin has always been depicted as a short Fat Bastard with an enormous nose. In the show, he's played by the slender and handsome Robin Lord Taylor wearing a tiny nose prosthetic. Justified as it's a prequel show, so there's plenty of time for him to get fat and bald later on.
    • In the comics, the Mad Hatter is very short, with an overlarge head, straw-like hair, and buckteeth. Benedict Samuels, while retaining a penchant for top hats and mind control, is tall and not at all bad-looking.
    • Jane Doe takes after her debut in Arkham Asylum: Living Hell is that she still has her skin, as opposed to her later skinless look.
  • The Handmaid's Tale: The Commander is balding, grey-haired and not at all attractive in the novel. Here he's played by Joseph Fiennes. The same goes for Serena Joy, who is not described as attractive, but worn out and having to use a cane. Here Yvonne Strahovski plays her. This is partially due to an Age Lift, since in the novel both the Commander and Serena Joy were older than Offred, with Serena, an adult, working as a Christian television star when Offred was a child (although this may be a case of Offred being an Unreliable Narrator).
  • Horatio Hornblower has a possible case with the main character. In the books Hornblower reacts to his wife's pregnancy by feeling pity for the child if it has his "accursed unhappy temperament", which is reasonable, or his looks, which may not be given all of the women who fall for him over the course of his life. Ioan Gruffudd is less skinny and awkward that young Hornblower is always described as being, but otherwise matches the physical description given in the books. His friend William Bush, however, is always described as being hardbitten and weatherbeaten and is played by Paul McGann (who is no Pretty Boy but not craggy either).
  • The American version of The Inbetweeners has Will upgraded from a Stereotypical Nerd to Hollywood Homely and turned Neil into a Long-Haired Pretty Boy. Inverted with Jay, whose actor looks like he'd be more suited to playing Big John.
  • In the year 2015, HBO Latin America produced a series inspired by an Argentinian comic called “El Hipnotizador”. This is how the character looks in the series.◊ Now compare how the main character looked◊ in the original comic.
  • In the Inspector Lynley novel series by Elizabeth George, Barbara Havers is clearly described as short, ugly, overweight and poorly dressed. Sharon Small, who played her in The BBC series The Inspector Lynley Mysteries, is trim, pretty and better dressed (but still short). Elizabeth George openly disliked the casting choice, until she was ultimately won over by Sharon Small's performance.
  • Funnily enough, this may have led to the American version of the Australian comedy Kath & Kim being a flop. The title characters were played by Hollywood Homely actressesnote  rather than properly translating the premise. It should have been about a trailer trash mother and daughter. The mom won't admit how old she is and the daughter is in denial about her weight.
  • The 2014 Italo/Spanish miniseries La Bella e La Bestia isn't any better than the Beauty and the Beast (2012) series at making its "Beast" character look remotely beastly. Instead of being cursed to look monstrous, Leon got scarred in a fire but his scar is only marginally more unsightly than 2012 Vincent's and the rest of his face is ruggedly handsome. It doesn't even stop him from being able to bed any woman he wants before he meets Bella or his cousin from lusting after him, which really makes one wonder why the introduction even bothered to try convincing us that he lost his attractiveness at all.
  • In Kate Mosse's book Labyrinth, the character of Alais is described as "plain". In the adaptation she's played by Jessica Brown Findlay, who by anyone's standards is simply beautiful. (She's on the left◊.)
  • In the Lark Rise to Candleford books, postmistress Dorcas Lane is described as a "crusty old lady" of fifty. In the TV series, however, she is a beautifully elegant women played by Julia Sawalha.
  • The Last Kingdom: Father Beocca is described in the books as one of the most ugly men Uhtred has ever known. In the show he's played by Ian Hart.
  • Legion:
    • David Haller in the comics has had multiple different artists draw him, but he usually isn't particularly attractive. In the show, he's played by the gorgeous Dan Stevens, whose character is acknowledged to be cute and a Pretty Boy In-Universe. Moreover, the TV counterpart is taller at 6'0" instead of 5'9".
    • Played with in regards to Farouk, a.k.a. the Shadow King. In the comics, his human vessel is Amahl Farouk, an obese Kingpin-like Egyptian man and his "real" form is a nightmarish monster. In the show, Farouk's real form is a terrifying, grotesque, obese Humanoid Abomination, but his human form is Navid Negahban, who isn't obese.
    • The comic book version of Charles Xavier is bald and average-looking at best. The TV iteration has a head full of hair and is portrayed by Pretty Boy actor Harry Lloyd. It continues the Progressively Prettier trend that the character has undergone since the X-Men Film Series.
  • Legend of the Seeker: In the books, Darken Rahl is heavily scarred on half of his body (due to Zedd's Wizard's Fire), and killed more than a few lovers for failing to hide their distaste upon seeing him naked. Here he's unblemished, making for more tasteful shirtless scenes.
  • Lockwood & Co. (2023):
    • George is described as fat and slovenly in the books, but has a pretty average weight in the series and is not notably less handsome than Lockwood. He does wear thick glasses so we know he’s the nerdy one.
    • Flo Bones goes from a hideously filthy scavenger who can barely be tolerated in close quarters to a well-kept young woman who is apparently just really into thrift stores. That said, she does still leave dirty footprints on the carpet of 35 Portland Row.
    • Quill Kipps is depicted in the books as being around Lucy's height (5'5), having a "bird-like" appearance and short cropped auburn hair and green eyes. In the show, however, he's 5'11 with curly light brown hair and blue eyes, and looks far more "conventionally" attractive (although he's still noticeably older-looking than Lockwood - Jack Bandeira is eight years older than Cameron Chapman).
    • In the books Lucy says she is "growing into a tall girl with strong features (thicker set than she liked), with large eyes, heavy eyebrows, an over-long nose and sulky lips" and "dark" hair. In the show she is played by the very lovely Ruby Stokes.
  • The Mandalorian Chapter 13 brings Ashoka Tano into live action, now while Ashoka has always been pretty attractive being a female Togruta, she still was never Rosario Dawson-level beautiful. Additionally Ashoka is canonically 46 by the time of New Republic era whilst Dawson was just 39 at the time of filming.
  • In Merlin, the title character is not a wizened old man unless in disguise but a Tall, Dark, and Snarky young man.
  • The illustrations in companion material for The Mysterious Benedict Society books depict Mr. Nicholas Benedict as having messy gray hair, perma-stubble and nicks on his face due to poor shaving because of his sleeping fits, a lumpy nose and unattractive asymmetrical glasses that seem to be designed to fit properly on the unusual nose. All of this is a fair match for the way the character is described in the text of the books. The TV character has none of these things and his actor, Tony Hale, is himself reasonably attractive.
  • In the Phryne Fisher novels, Dot is described as plain. In Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries, she is played by the lovely Ashleigh Cummings. Likewise, in the books Detective Inspector Jack Robinson's primary physical trait is that he is instantly forgettable, whereas in the series he is played by the dreamy Nathan Page.
  • The HBO series My Brilliant Friend is an adaptation of The Neapolitan Novels, which is mostly faithful, except for a minor character named Eleonora. In the novels, Elena was initially afraid that Nino's wife Eleonora could be more beautiful than her, until Eleonora is revealed to be an unattractive, rude, and ignorant woman. In the HBO series, Eleonora is just as beautiful and elegant as Elena expected her to be.
  • In the Mrs Bradley novels by Gladys Mitchell, she's described as "a hag-like pterodactyl". In The BBC's The Mrs Bradley Mysteries, she's played by Diana Rigg.
  • One Piece (2023):
    • Usopp in the manga/anime does become more attractive and muscular later on, but still borders on Gonk with his Gag Nose and huge lips. Here he's played by the very handsome Jacob Romero with his comical schnoz getting removed for practicality reasons.
    • Helmeppo, even after Taking a Level in Badass from a skinny fop to legitimate fighter, is far from good looking in the source material. Here he's played by Aidan Scott, a Mr. Fanservice whom even has a Female Gaze-y nude scene, showing off his ass in the very first episode, though he remains quite foppish.
    • Sham is a creepy hunchback in the manga/anime, but due to getting a Gender Lift is played by the attractive (and non-hunchedbacked) Bianca Oosthuizen instead.
  • Once Upon a Time:
    • The show does this with the Witches of Oz. The Wicked Witch of the West in the book is a wrinkled hag with one eye — and her more famous film counterpart is hook-nosed and green-skinned. Here, she's played by an attractive actress and the green skin is only a side effect of her jealousy. The character gets a Fanservice Pack and plenty of outfits with cleavage. The Witch of the East's appearance is never described but she's usually portrayed as a hag, while the Witch of the North is an elderly woman — Glinda, the Witch of the South, is the only witch described to be agelessly beautiful. All witches here are played by young pretty actresses.
    • Ursula too. Although in this continuity, it's simply Regina impersonating her but her appearance is inspired by the movie's depiction of her — that Ursula is overweight, purple skinned and unpleasant. When Ursula is revealed to be real, both of them are much slimmer than the original character with no purple skin. Likewise, another Ursula appears in Season 4, now as a slim attractive dark-skinned blond.
    • The Seven Dwarfs as well. In the Disney film, all of them except Dopey are short, elderly men with long grey beards. Here - at least in the World Without Magic - they're all much younger and human-sized. Played for Laughs in one episode where they return to the Enchanted Forest and are delighted they look "normal" again (ie short with bulbous noses).
    • Maleficent is a green-skinned fairy. Here, she's an attractive human woman (in the eyes of some). The horns in this version are just a headdress and she has a full head of blonde hair underneath.
    • This is Captain Hook. An interesting example; in the original story, he's described as being the most handsome man who ever lived. It was other adaptations that made him a fop. Of course, what J.M. Barrie would have called handsome is probably different from modern conventions.
    • Peter Pan becomes a teenage Pretty Boy as opposed to a mischievous child or preteen.
    • Rumplestiltskin, unlike many Once Upon a Time characters, never had a Disney adaptation, but is still Adaptational Attractiveness. In most other versions of the story, he's at least a dwarf and possibly The Grotesque as well, but in Once Upon a Time, he's the size of an average human and at least "normal looking" (except in his Dark One form, where he's decidedly goblin-like).
    • Merlin is commonly an elderly man with long white hair and beard. General fan reaction to his appearance on the show was "wow, he's pretty".
    • Nimue becomes an inversion. Most artwork depicts her as an attractive sorceress. When she first appears in flashback, she is very pretty. However, when she becomes the first Dark One, she noticeably loses some of her beauty. Most depictions have Nimue retaining her beauty along with her powers.
    • Although she was only on screen briefly, Cinderella's Fairy Godmother is played by a young pretty black woman as opposed to her animated film counterpart, in which she is an elderly woman.
    • This is how most people are used to seeing Drizella Tremaine, one of Cinderella's "Ugly Stepsisters". This is Drizella◊ in the show as well as her Hyperion self Ivy as played by Adelaide Kane, who is well known for portraying the beautiful young Mary, Queen of Scots. Ugly on the inside, maybe, but what a gal!
    • Cruella de Vil is far more attractive (and sexual!) than her film counterpart. This is Truer to the Text, as in the original book, Cruella was very attractive.
    • Spin-off Once Upon a Time in Wonderland does this as well. The Red Queen in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is literally a living chess piece. The Red Queen in OUAT is a thin, blonde woman. And Jafar (both of them) is also considerably more attractive than the original version in Aladdin. Not to mention that the Jabberwock goes from being a dragon to this.
  • Percy Jackson and the Olympians: Due to Rick Riordan's preference of open-casting, some characters look far more conventionally attractive than how they are described in the books:
    • In the books, Grover is said by Percy to look like he was held back several grades, as he's the only sixth-grader with acne and signs of a wispy beard on his chin. Here, he's clean-shaven and looks slightly more convincing as a sixth-grader (Aryan Simhadri was 16 during filming).
    • Clarisse is not exactly attractive according to Percy's description of her. Here, she's played by Dior Goodjohn, who is far easier on the eyes.
    • Echidna's human disguise, a Fat Bastard in the book, is a fairly skinny woman here.
    • Like Uma Thurman, Medusa is, for the second time, a young beautiful woman instead of a hideous old crone.
    • Mr. D is not as chubby as Percy describes him as, something the books and the Sea of Monsters film adaptation kept true to. Here, he is very thin.
    • Like Joe Pantoliano's interpretation of the character, Gabe Ugliano is pretty thin, but he has a full set of hair instead of being bald.
  • In the Agatha Christie novels that feature her, Poirot's secretary Miss Lemon was frequently described as "ugly" or "hideous". In the Poirot series she was portrayed by Pauline Moran, who was well past her hey-day, but certainly not unattractive.
    • Poirot himself is not described in flattening terms in the books as apart from his weight, the books makes note of his egg-shaped head and even Christie herself (having gotten sick of him) once described him as a "creep". In the series Poirot is played by the very dapper and pleasantly stocky David Suchet, he's also less egotistical than his book counterpart which helps.
  • Preacher:
    • Cassidy lacks the monstrously bloodshot eyes that he has in the comics.
    • Eugene Root (AKA Arseface) is also less disfigured than his comic counterpart◊, but this has an in-universe explanation: the shotgun was a good foot or so away from his face instead of right under his chin.
    • Odin Quincannon in the comics looks almost like a bald troll doll. The TV version doesn't augment Jackie Earle Haley's appearance with any prosthetics.
  • One of the many problems with the American Red Dwarf pilot. Lister has all his negative qualities removed, like his slobbishness and his laziness. The actor is the Adonis-like Craig Bierko, as opposed to the average-looking Craig Charles.
  • Irona, the Robot Maid from Richie Rich. In the comics, she is a metallic Fembot who looks like a middle-aged homely woman◊. The cartoons have her as somewhat more human and younger looking, but still hardly attractive. In the 2015 TV series, Richie "splurged on the supermodel model◊"; that is, a Ridiculously Human Robot teenage-looking Ms. Fanservice in a French Maid Outfit.
  • Riverdale gives this treatment to many Archie Comics characters.
    • Jughead is a lanky teenage boy who wears a silly hat and has a Gag Nose, though Archie Comics (2015) did make him more attractive (while keeping his general look). In the show, he is played by Cole Sprouse and summaries refer to him as an "emo heartthrob".
    • Archie himself has abs and is described in-universe as a heartbreaker, with his newfound looks frequently lampshaded.
    • His father Fred is tubby and bald in almost all appearances but is played by the trim Luke Perry, who has a full head of hair.
    • Miss Grundy goes from being a crone to... this. It's actually a subversion - she's not really Miss Grundy.
  • In the TNT series Rizzoli & Isles, Jane Rizzoli is played by the gorgeous Angie Harmon, despite the fact that in nearly every book that the TV series is based on, Rizzoli is consistently described as plain or average looking and so hung up on this that she frequently displays an irrational hatred of women who ARE beautiful. Similarly, while Isles is described in the books as being attractive, as played by Sasha Alexander, she's now a knockout. There's also Detective Korsak, who while hardly looking like a male model in his TV incarnation, is also better-looking than he's described in the books.
  • While in all continuities of Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Sabrina's two aunts are Really 700 Years Old, in the original comics they actually looked old and Hilda was lanky and mannish-looking while Zelda was overweight. They also dressed like stereotypical Halloween witches. The TV series made them both into slender, attractive women who look no older than early middle-age and wear fashionable modern clothes, a change that carried over to later comics. The animated series takes it even further by making them physically teenagers. note 
  • The Sandman:
    • In the comic book, John Dee is an emaciated Gollum-like figure with prominent eyes and missing most of his hair and teeth. As played by David Thewlis in the TV version, he's a somewhat dishevelled but basically healthy and pleasant-looking middle-aged man.
    • In the comic, the demon Mazikeen looks like a beautiful woman except that she is basically missing one entire side of her head. In the series, her disfigurement is more superficial and covers less of her face.
    • In the comic, the Anthropomorphic Personification of Despair is obese, has fangs, and her skin has an inhuman pallor. In the TV series, she's completely human-looking, and just a Hollywood Homely version of an overweight woman in unflattering clothes.
  • Shadowhunters:
    • In The Mortal Instruments Hodge is described as having a long beaky nose and looking much older than his real age of 36. The show casts John Cor to play him - as a chiselled Hunk. There was even some Memetic Mutation about 'Hot Hodge'.
    • Clary describes herself in unflattering terms, drawing attention to unruly red hair. In the show she is aged up from an awkward teenager to a confident young adult, and played by the gorgeous Katherine McNamara. The show retains a line where Isabelle says she wishes she was as flat-chested as Clary - but Kat is just as well-endowed as Emeraude Toubia.
  • Sharpe cast Sean Bean (a blond northerner) as Richard Sharpe (in the books, a dark-haired Londoner). Although book-Sharpe is fairly handsome, he also has a wicked scar, which the TV version lacks. As above, author Bernard Cornwell was initially strongly opposed before being won over by Bean's performance, which led to Adaptation Displacement going so far as a book Retcon.
  • Stephen King's The Stand (1994):
    • The 1994 miniseries adaptation most notably suffered from this trope with the character of Harold Lauder. In the book, Harold was primarily defined by how overweight, pock-marked, and hideously unattractive he was at the beginning of the book and a major part of his arc centered upon how he began to lose weight and take care of himself later in the story. In the film, he was played by the quite handsome actor Corin Nemec, who wore a slightly nerdy hairdo and outfit for the first episode or two before a subtle attack of The Glasses Gotta Go. (Though, if you saw Thinner, you might call this a Pragmatic Adaptation). In The Stand (2020), Harold is played the handsome Own Teague, whom in a hilarious coincidence also played a more attractive Patrick Hockstetter in It (2017).
    • Humanoid Abomination Randall Flagg has a face that instills absolute terror even in hardened criminals like Lloyd Henreid, the Marvel's Comic adaptation follows this giving Flagg a shadowed horrifying face with permanent Slasher Smile and black hellish eyes. In the miniseries Randall Flagg is played by Jamey Sheridan who’s certainly not scary to look at, and is only really frightening when he puts on his Game Face, whilst in the book Flagg is just as horrifying with his "normal" face. Likewise in the 2020 series of The Stand has Randall Flagg played by Alexander Skarsgård (whose brother fittingly plays another iconic Stephen King monster) who again is much more handsome than how Flagg is described in the book.
  • Stargirl (2020): In the Golden Age comics, Icicle was an unattractive middle-aged man. In the live-action show, he instead has typical network TV good looks.
  • In the original book for NOS4A2, Charlie Manx is described as having weasel-like features and an overbite. For the television adaptation he's being played by Zachary Quinto.
  • Strangers From Hell: Everyone looks much better in the series than in the webtoon. Here's the webtoon's Jung-woo◊ and Moon-jo◊ next to their actors in the series.
  • The Terror both plays this straight and subverts it:
    • In the book, Cornelius Hickey is described as rat-faced, with very few remaining teeth, and so short that he's literally mistaken for a leprechaun at one point (It Makes Sense in Context). In the series, he's played by Adam Nagaitis, who is indeed somewhat short (5'7"½, or 151 cm) and has somewhat prominent front teeth but is otherwise more or less a Pretty Boy.
    • The real life Sir John Franklin's surviving portraits show him to have been squat, nearly neckless in his uniform, and bald. He is played by Ciarán Hinds, who looks slim and weathered at worst and has a full head of dark hair. In fact, he looks almost exactly like simply an older version of his earlier portrayal of Captain Wentworth in Persuasion.
    • Played with in the case of James Fitzjames, who was considered "the handsomest man in the Royal Navy" in his lifetime and was not ugly even by modern standards, but was very much a heartthrob by specifically Victorian standards (having curly blond hair in a style that was very fashionable for the period but looks rather childish now, and being a little on the heavy side, with a plump face). In the show, he is a Tall, Dark, and Handsome Long-Haired Pretty Boy (and played by Tobias Menzies), which has a similar effect from a modern audience's perspective in order to keep the idea that he's good-looking fully intact.
  • The BBC's Adaptation of Sarah Waters' Tipping the Velvet cast Rachael Stirling as Nan, who was so plain in the book that she passed successfully as a boy for years on the street.
  • Jacqueline Wilson's best-known heroine, Tracy Beaker, is a tomboyish, untidy preteen girl who doesn't care about her looks and is described by adults as plain and awkward-looking. In the long-running TV adaptation, she's played by the cute and well-groomed Dani Harmer. At some point, the show's cartoon-Tracy based on the book covers were redesigned to better fit the teenaged Harmer's appearance.
  • The Toy Castle: In the 1992 special The Tin Soldier, the Goblin in the Jack-in-the-Box had heavy black makeup, exaggerated facial features, and generally looked very sinister. Here, his expressions are softened up, and he has larger eyes and a more genuine smile, making him look more approachable (fittingly, this Goblin also went through Adaptational Nice Guy from an upfront villain to a Jerk with a Heart of Gold).
  • The Twilight Zone (1959):
    • "It's a Good Life" does this with Anthony Fremont. While the original short story never gives us a full description of Anthony's appearance, the mention of things like his "wet, purple gaze", "odd shadow", and the fact that when he was born the doctor was so horrified by his appearance that he tried to kill him suggest that he doesn't quite look human. In the TV episode, he looks like an ordinary child.
    • In "To Serve Man", the Kanamits are much less ugly than in the short story by Damon Knight. The story describes them as looking "something like pigs and something like people". They are short with snoutlike noses, small eyes and thick, bristly brown-grey hair all over their bodies and have three fingers on each hand. In the television adaptation, they are nine feet tall and have bulbous foreheads but resemble humans facially.
  • The Umbrella Academy (2019) has lot of this, due to Gabriel Bá's stylized artstyle in the comic making a lot of the characters Gonk or Super-Deformed.
  • The Witcher (2019):
  • In Wives and Daughters, Roger Hamley was not attractive at all and was repeatedly described as awkward. In the 1999 miniseries, it's downplayed, but he's still regarded as less handsome than his older brother Osborne and characters sometimes hint to that. He's played by Anthony Howell, though, a very good-looking actor. Some fans even think that the casting swapped the roles and consider him more handsome than Tom Hollander who played Osborne in this production.
  • The Wiz typically portrays Evillene, the Wicked Witch of the West, as the ugliest◊ witch Dorothy meets. In the NBC version of the musical, Evillene (played by Mary J. Blige) actually looks rather glamorous for a wicked witch.
  • Wolf Hall casts Mark Rylance◊ as Thomas Cromwell. The extensive worry Cromwell had in the book about having a Face of a Thug is left out, as is his stoutness from the Holbein portrait◊ (although the series does have a scene in which Cromwell is sitting for the painting).
  • Wonder Woman: Wonder Woman herself. In the comics of the 40s through the 60s, she was beautiful but in an athletic and less well endowed manner. Lynda Carter changed the entire look of the character. She would never be the same.

Subversions

  • Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers has a strange example with Rita Repulsa in its second season. In the original Kyōryū Sentai Zyuranger Bandora, Rita's original counterpart, is played by the middle-aged Machiko Soga, whose footage was also used for Rita in the first season of Mighty Morphin. This trope is played up when the character returned during the second half of the second season, where she was played by a much younger actress, making her look more attractive. In-universe, this is handwaved by saying Rita used magic to make herself appear younger.

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