What do you imagine your favorite literary character looks like?

This isn't really about your favorite literary character, it's about how you imagine the appearance of any literary character from anything you've read - but I thought it made for a better title to say it that way.

I started this thread when I realized that I was imagining Luna Lovegood as Tsumugi...

edited 3rd Oct '10 6:46:31 PM by Sporkaganza

Not really my favorite, but I always imagine Howard Rorke as looking and speaking like Alexander from the English dub of Reign The Conqueror.

edited 3rd Oct '10 9:05:57 PM by Roman

They all look like me. Hooray, narcissism!

I reread H P Lovecraft's "Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath" last year and kept seeing Johnny Depp as Randolph Carter. Yeah, I know that's weird...

When I read The Hobbit, I kept thinking that Bilbo looked like the Coachman from Pinocchio.

Holden sounds like Travis.

Hillman Hunter looks like John C. Reilly, and Arthur Dent looks like Matthew MacFadyen.

Most unfortunately, Coyote sounds like Gilbert Gottfried.

edited 27th Oct '10 2:40:09 PM by EddieValiant,Jr.

Sometimes, but rarely. I'm always surprised by how illustrators and movies portray characters I'm familiar with.

For example, Carrot from Discworld◊. I've always pictured his boy more like this◊ and his face like classical Superman's - clean-cut, elegant and somewhat innocent.

For some reason, I've always pictured Carrot as Disney's Hercules with shorter hair.

Speaking of Pratchett (and, well, Gaiman, but I'm trying to make a segue here) characters, I always imagined Anthony J. Crowley would look quite a bit like Patrick Bateman, what with the whole "demonic yuppie" thing going on. In that vein, Newton would look like a twenty-something Woody Allen, Adam sounds like a dead-ringer for Johan Liebert, and there was something about Anathema's description that reminded me of Christina Ricci.

edited 1st Nov '10 2:50:42 PM by Sparkysharps

Oh yeah? I always think of Crowley as looking like a young Tim Roth smooshed together with Orson Welles.

Too much Tarantino too young, I suppose.

^^ That works.

Warbreaker: Siri and Viviena remind me of Miyazaki protagonists, for some reason - both would be the "Lana" character (although Siri sometimes looks like an older "Mei" character in my head), but in different forms - Siri's more Satsuki or Kiki while Viviena is Sophie. Vasher's Raigyo. Lightsong is a perpetually glowing Human!Wick (quick reference, in case you're wondering). Denth and Tonk Fah are Horace and Jasper - Not because anything about their described appearances were anything like Horace and Jasper, but because Those Two Bad Guys always look like Horace and Jasper in my head. I can't actually remember Susebron's physical description (beyond the requisite "seven feet tall and built like a Greek god" like all Returned), but I always picture him looking like Archer, no matter how mind-gnawingly inaccurate that mental image is. Blushweaver is a Catherine Zeta Jones-Jennifer Connelly hybrid of unparalleled hotness

edited 1st Nov '10 10:51:42 PM by Sparkysharps

I sometimes see Nick Seafort from David Feintuch's "Hope" series as looking like Rimmer in Red Dwarf - if I didn't know better I could almost think Rimmer was actually intended as a parody of Seafort's worst aspects, though of course the TV series was shown long before Feintuch wrote the saga.

To me, Lovecraft's Randolph Carter is Ronald Colman circa Lost Horizons. See, here he is in the vale of Pnoth◊ after the night-gaunts grabbed him off the side of Ngranek.

edited 14th Jan '15 3:22:43 PM by CaptEquinox

I've always thought Sauron in physical form looked somewhat like the movie version, just a little less bulky. Still a fantastic Dark Lord of evil though.

edited 14th Jan '15 4:17:43 PM by Jenaiqueserasera

With apologies to the 2003 movie's cast, I've always pictured Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin as resembling somewhat younger versions of Brendan Gleeson and Rowan Atkinson, respectively.

Uh, I don't have one? No book has ever engaged me enough.

No idea. I worship Locke Lamora, and even he doesn't know what he looks like. He is probably rather small, slim and well-built and reasonably handsome when he wants to be, but aside from that, I have no idea.

edited 16th Jan '15 5:55:25 AM by Julep

I don't know there are too much to choose from, and besides I don't really visualize so much as burrow into the viewpoint characters mindset, and emotions (or who I identify most if it's omniscient) and invest in the world.

I generally go with whatever description the writer gives, possibly influenced by the cover art. But some covers lie.

Sam Vimes is shortish and blond. I got this into my head ages ago, and nothing will shake it

edited 30th Jan '15 5:35:43 AM by Murataku

I don't have a very active imagination, so I only notice how I imagined a character to look if the movie gets it wrong.

Hermione doesn't look like she does in the Harry Potter movies. Her hair is waaaay curlier. (She could be black. That would irk me less than making her Hollywood Homely. And would provide the correct hair structure) Also, she always wears her school uniform. Always. She does, most decidedly, never wear the latest muggle fashion.

Amazingly enough, Luna Lovegood looks exactly the same in my mind as she looks in the movies. As does Professor Mc Gonagall.

Also, Jerin from A Brother's Price does not look like he does on the cover of the book. He has long, straight black hair that goes down to his feet and his facial expression is more intelligent. He might look a bit like Frodo in the LOTR movie, but with different hair, obviously.

edited 24th Feb '15 2:09:39 PM by Gowan

I'm slowly getting out of it, but my brain seems to think Mr Wednesday from American Gods should look like the midget leprechaun guy from Zelda: Spirit tracks. I don't know either.

edited 25th Feb '15 2:13:21 AM by Joeker196

There's this Robert Louis Stevenson story Sire de Maledtoit's Door that's set in France the 1400s and the eponymous character is a sinister looking and acting aristocrat who speaks in a very courtly, charming (in a sinister way) manner.

I either see him as looking and talking like Frollo from Disney's Hunchback of Notre Dame (which is appropriate given the story's setting) or else, as Vincent Prince.

RE Warbreaker mentioned above, I envision Denth as Nathan Fillon- the character is sort of in that Han Soloish Lovable Rogue mode. Also, although the character in the book is described as hulking, I envision Denth's sadistic partner, Tonk Fah, as Toht from Indiana Jones- partly because of the similar sounding names.

edited 25th Feb '15 8:10:04 AM by Hodor2

Speaking of Vincent Price, he'd make a fantastic Nyarlathotep. Especially when very young.◊

rare shirtless scene◊

edited 3rd Mar '15 10:44:53 PM by CaptEquinox

For some reason, Peeta has glasses. The book never describes him as having glasses. I don't know why I think of him having glasses. Also Cinna, in my mind, was played by David Tennant.

I imagined Nico and Bianca being much darker skin than other people seem to imagine them. I feel like people don't know what "olive-skinned" means. Possibly I don't know what "olive-skinned" means.

I've probably got more of these which I'll think of over time.