History Main / AdaptationalAttractiveness

* In the novelisation of ''[[StarTrekFirstContact Star Trek: First Contact]]'' the [[http://img.listal.com/image/384123/600full-alice-krige.jpg Borg Queen]] is described as being dark-hiared and beautiful, while [[http://www.thepostcard.com/walt/show/sta544.gif Data with human skin grafted to his body]] is described as being brown-eyed, tanned and handsome.

*** To be honest, the filmmakers couldn't have predicted when they cast all those kids at age 10 that, with respect to their characters, Daniel Radcliffe would grow too tall, Rupert Grint would grow not tall enough, Emma Watson would qualify for 50 sexiest people, Matthew Lewis would become thin (which is slightly less [[{{TVTropesWikiDrinkingGame}} egregious]] considering Neville's [[TookALevelInBadass character development]]), and Tom Felton [[DracoInLeatherPants would become hot enough to get his own trope]].

* In the novelisation of ''[[StarTrekFirstContact Star Trek: First Contact]]'' the [[http://img.listal.com/image/384123/600full-alice-krige.jpg Borg Queen]] is described as being dar-hiared and beautiful, while [[http://www.thepostcard.com/walt/show/sta544.gif Data with human skin grafted to his body]] is described as being brown-eyed, tanned and handsome.

[[folder:RPG]]
* Fading Suns: I did this to a long-standing character of mine once when I earned a few new upgrade points. The PBF GM let me get away with it because I bought a personal copy of the sourcebook for the next adventure. Definitely girlfriend/rpg waifu adaptational decay, but at least one excuse was that she had been only sixteen. I later subverted this in other games by making characters plastic, cloned or horribly artificial somehow.

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* [[http://www.titanstower.com/assets/animated/behind%20scenes/animatedcompare/terra.jpg Terra]] from ''TeenTitans''. In the source comics she has buck teeth, short fluffy hair, and is otherwise a rather (while exagerrated) 'normal' teenage girl. In the cartoon she's petite, long hair, and FetishFuel, while a bit [[UnCannyValley unsettling]] to some.

** It'll likely get even worse, as they're currently casting the role in the American version of the film. Names that have been mentioned as interested include Kristen Stewart, Ellen Page, and Carey Mulligan.

* [[http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/6a/Kingpinm.png The Kingpin]] in MarvelComics is obese to the point of resembling a sumo wrestler. In [[TheFilmOfTheBook live-action films]], He's been played by [[http://www.comicbitsonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/trial-hulk-e.jpg John Rhys-Davies]] and [[http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/9c/Dunkenkingpin.png Michael Clarke Duncan]].
** To be fair, all that body is muscle and those two actors were chosen because of their big body structures.
*** Yeah, Kingpin in the comics is a walking refrigerator of pure muscle. Michael C Duncan was as close as a real world person can come to Kingpin's impossible build, and thus doesn't belong in this catagory at all.

* In the ''GossipGirl'' books, Jenny Humphrey is a sweet, artistic girl whose main appearance anxiety is that she is short, brunet 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 [[YoungerThanTheyLook forteen-year-old Taylor Momsen]] would grow so tall, but they sure knew she was blond and skinny, and looked nothing like the character in the books.

** Interestingly, the weight aspect might have been part of an effort to make the hobbits look more normal - Peter Jackson specifically didn't want them to look like midgets (who are generally stocky), but rather like regular people scaled down. Interestingly, many fantasy adaptations forget Tolkein established the idea that hobbits aren't actually that much ''shorter'' than dwarfs, just not as stout.

** And speaking of The Dark Knight, Two-Face inverts this trope (he's quite possibly the most grotesque Two-Face in existence)

* About the only upside of Oliver Stone's ''Alexander'' is Alexander's [[IfYouKnowWhatIMean companion]] Hephistion being played by a strikingly attractive Jared Leto. Strange, considering the sketchy evidence suggests Hephaistion was a plain, even ugly man, with a huge nose. But that wouldn't go down well with the [[YaoiFangirl Yaoi Fangirls]]. Alexander was also portrayed as a big, strong hero rather than a short, rather slight blond with large eyes!

* In {{Isaac Asimov}}'s robot stories, Susan Calvin is described as middle-aged and unattractive. In the movie, she was portrayed by a former model, Bridget Moynahan (although that film only [[InNameOnly very, very loosely]] based on Asimov's work.

** This is also inverted in a way. Neither version of V shows his face, however the movie implies that he has been horribly disfigured and we at least see that his hands are pretty gruesome. In the grpahic novel, it was explictly stated that despite the treatments V underwent, he was never disfigured unlike other subjects. One of the few people who knew his identity described him as beautiful and asked to see his face one last time before dying.

* In the ''InspectorLynley'' 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 well dressed. Elizabeth George openly disliked the casting choice (until she was ultimately won over by Sharon Small's performance.)

* In the film-adaptation of ''{{Let the Right One In}}'', Oskar is played by a reasonably cute and thin child. In the book, however, he is overweight and has major problems with food. Despite being a generally lauded film, the film rather confusingly still has the bullies call Oskar "piggy".

** [[http://media.comicvine.com/uploads/0/378/78992-124377-deadpool_super.jpg Comic!Deadpool]] and [[http://media.comicvine.com/uploads/0/378/791910-weapon_xi_by_totorokyonanashi.jpg Movie!Deadpool]].

* 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.

* Inverted in '''The Graduate'''. In the book, Ben is a handsome WASP. In the movie, he's played by Dustin Hoffman. However, Robert Redford and Warren Beatty had been considered for the role.

** The ultimate example, ladies and gentlemen. Folks, [[http://media.comicvine.com/uploads/0/378/78992-124377-deadpool_super.jpg Comic!Deadpool]] and [[http://media.comicvine.com/uploads/3/33762/766069-751987_61_super.jpg Movie!Deadpool]].

**Another Annie Proul example: In ''The Shipping News,'' the protagonist is described as overweight, sloppy, and with a face wrinkled like a crenshaw melon. In the film adaptation, he is portrayed by Kevin Spacey.

** Sarah Peirce was also described as being not very pretty in the book. In the movie they worked over time to make Kate Winslet seem frumpy but their best efforts made her look HollywoodHomely

** In the BBC miniseries adaptation, Mr. Rochester is played by [[http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0827170/ Toby Stephens]].