Which character has the TV series portrayed the best?

Opinions?

Rory McCann does a great job as Sandor Clegane/The Hound, love all his scenes.

Charles Dance as Tywin is also excellent, he steals the show every time.

However for me Jack Gleeson has done an amazing job as Joffrey. As in the books you just hate him. There isn't even that slight bit of liking him as the bad guy you just want bad **** to happen to him from start to finish.

Next season is only 3 months away now so to get everyone in the mood again lets get some healthy discussion going. Remember spoilers etc

Mickeroo

I agree on Joffrey. He's been great in fairness.

I think Sean Bean as Ned in season 1 was pretty great, it was like he had just walked of the pages of the book imo. He didn't chew the scenery or anything but i thought he was just perfectly cast.

I think the Hound has been great too, he's a lot more sympathetic in the show and I think thats down to McGann's performance more than anything.

Tzar Chasm

on the flip side i'm having a hard time trying to think of any main character that's badly portrayed. most of the casting is spot on.

tyrion is a stand out character in the books and dinklage portrays him to perfection,

Sleepy

None of them are awful but the least effective in their roles for me would have to be Cersei and Robert... Mark Addy's a good actor but I just couldn't see the legendary warrior underneath the years of gluttony in his physique. As for Cersei, she's simply not blonde enough and not beautiful enough.

eviltwin

Have to agree with Joffrey, he's a nasty character in the books but Jack Gleeson has made him seem even more evil if possible.

I think both Sansa and Ayra are exactly how I imagined them to be pre tv series and Peter Dinklage as Tryion just captures him to a tee.

Huggles

Peter Dinklage as Tyrian too - just brilliant.

username123

Sleepy wrote: »

Mark Addy's a good actor but I just couldn't see the legendary warrior underneath the years of gluttony in his physique.

Yes, I thought this too about the portrayal of King Robert. My husband hast read the books and he was like 'A warhammer? Him!?'

Arya is brilliant, and the chemistry she has with Tywin on screen is great. I agree the the Hound inspires more sympathy onscreen as well.

But Tyrion is the biggest scene stealer of anyone imo.

Turtyturd

The vast majority of them have been portrayed well, even the smaller characters like Sam.

The one who stands out for me as not having been portrayed as well as the book is Sansa, she just came across as a moany little sh*t in the tv show, but in the book I felt a lot more sympathy for her.

Tzar Chasm

I thought they had sansa correct, but that said I found sans herself quite dull for the first few books.

I will be interested to se how they do the

alayne

stotyline

Mod Edit: Added a spoiler tag there

DarkDusk

I'd agree that Dinklage has done a magnificent job at portraying Tyrion, then again, Tyrion is my favourite character from the books. Arya, Varys, The Hound and the late Ned all stand out for me.

Duckworth_Luas

Catelyn Stark. As miserable in the first two seasons as in the first two books.

OK, your son was crippled, your husband executed, your eldest son at war with the very people who hold your two daughters hostage, your two youngest sons murdered, your sister insane and your father on his deathbed.

But lighten up FFS!

Gurgle

Sleepy wrote: »

Mark Addy's a good actor but I just couldn't see the legendary warrior underneath the years of gluttony in his physique. As for Cersei, she's simply not blonde enough and not beautiful enough.

Agree with you on Robert, but I thought Cercei was well cast. She's meant to be an aging beauty...

Tzar Chasm

in my head reading the books I had cast brian blessed as Robert.

littlefinger is portrayed brilliantly by gillian I hadn't warmed to him in the first few books, but the series really fleshes out his motivations

username123

Tzar Chasm wrote: »

in my head reading the books I had cast brian blessed as Robert.

Great casting! I would have found him more physically believable as the legendary warrior gone to excess alright.

Pepe LeFrits

Cersei is too much of an Ice Queen in the TV show; she's got much more fire in the books.

Like others I didn't quite buy Mark Addy as the once great warrior either; he nailed the drunken fool though.

In terms of being the truest to their book counterparts, it's a tough call but I'd probably go with Arya.

Gurgle

Pepe LeFrits wrote: »

In terms of being the truest to their book counterparts, it's a tough call but I'd probably go with Arya.

Casting kids has to be an absolute pain in the arse, but her they chose perfectly.

username123

I really liked how they changed Jaqen H'ghar's face, I was afraid it would be some awful cgi mess but it was cool.

I liked his portrayal, he was mysterious, handsome, his delivery was excellent and I believed him totally.

Gauge

Mark Addy nailed the current Robert though, his chemistry with Sean Bean was great and he was very memorable for the few episodes he was in.

The kids Arya, Sansa and Bran were all excellently cast, Arya in particular.

The guy who played The Mountain in the first series was absolutely spot on. Enormous, solid and terrifying! The lanky guy that replaced him for the second series isn't a patch on the original.

Wasn't too gone on the casting for Asha/Yara either. I pictured her being a bit more warrior-like.

Jack Gleeson plays Joffrey excellently, they couldn't have picked someone better to play him. Absolutely loathe the character.

Witcher

Gauge wrote: »

Mark Addy nailed the current Robert though, his chemistry with Sean Bean was great and he was very memorable for the few episodes he was in.

The kids Arya, Sansa and Bran were all excellently cast, Arya in particular.

The guy who played The Mountain in the first series was absolutely spot on. Enormous, solid and terrifying! The lanky guy that replaced him for the second series isn't a patch on the original.

Wasn't too gone on the casting for Asha/Yara either. I pictured her being a bit more warrior-like.

Jack Gleeson plays Joffrey excellently, they couldn't have picked someone better to play him. Absolutely loathe the character.

Agree with all of these, the scene where Cersei and Robert talk about Lyanna etc. early in the first season explains how he had sunk so low from what he was which helped me believe that TV depiction of Robert a bit more.

The new Gregor Clegane is crap, guy has the height but not the bulk really.

The Hound from the show is great, the scar being on the wrong side isn't a big thing for me really, he's a tank in the books and he's portrayed just as well in the show by Rory McCann. I think McCann's face shows the inner softness of the character too, compared to how he's usually drawn in artwork; as a raving mad lunatic. Great voice too..overall I vote the Hound:pac:

Blay

Blay wrote: »

I vote the Hound:pac:

Viva Sandor! If anyone hasn't seen Rory McCann's audition on Youtube it is worth a look. Really really brilliant!

Dubhlinner

I think Mark Addy is brilliant but agree he's not physically correct for the role.

Similar with Joffrey. Whilst Gleeson does the role brilliantly in how hateable he is I was expecting someone better looking/charming.

Inspector Coptoor

The characters who play Cersei or Jaime just arent blonde enough or hot enough. Simple as.

I thought Loras Tyrrell would be bigger, obviously not Mountain or Hound big but not someone who looks like a soccer player. The same goes for Lancel Lanister, very very small.

Margery Tyrell - bang on. Smoking hot.

Catelyn Stark - great casting.

Janos Slynt - not very good.

Varys, Peter Baelish - very good.

I really like the similarlity between Lord Commander Mormont and Ser Jorah Mormont - you could really believe they are father and son.


But for me, the best casting of all the characters is Khal Drogo.

Owryan

Everytime I see jaime lannister I see prince charming from shrek !!

As for Mark Addy as Robert, as I see it he is not playing a fierce warrior who was loved by all the women but a fat drunken whoremonger so comparing him to his past is a little unfair .

podgemonster

Another one of the shining highs of this series is the quality of the cast. I really have no issue with any case member apart from Ygritte being too pretty for a wildling and Theons sister looks like she played corner back ladies footballer and not a female commander.

Otherwise a stellar cast with Drogo, Jamie and Ser Barriston the most perfectly cast character imho!

Frank Black

I'm only a few episodes into Series 2, but the standout character is Tyrion, although at first I was a bit discombobulated that he didn't have a beard, i soon realised that he didn't in the book either - but if someone says dwarf to me I immediately picture Gimli from LOTR.
Arya and Stansa are pretty spot on from the way I had them pictured. Cersei is good, Robert spot on. Sean Bean as Ned Stark worked fine for me.

The charcters which looked completely different to what I had imagined when reading the novels were
Varys - In my head he was stick-thin - not at all like he looks in the TV series.
Jamie - probably the character depection which works least well.
Asha Greyjoy - she just looked way hotter in my head.

Pepe LeFrits

I think Varys is brilliant - I hardly noticed him in the books, but in the show he's magnetic. Maybe that doesn't make him a faithful representation though...

Tzar Chasm

Owryan wrote: »

Everytime I see jaime lannister I see prince charming from shrek !!

As for Mark Addy as Robert, as I see it he is not playing a fierce warrior who was loved by all the women but a fat drunken whoremonger so comparing him to his past is a little unfair .

yes to this, that is exactly how I pictured jamie in the books, visually him and vary are almost identical to the characters in my head.

Washington Irving

Tzar Chasm wrote: »

yes to this, that is exactly how I pictured jamie in the books, visually him and vary are almost identical to the characters in my head.

Littlefinger is another one who is exactly what I pictured him like. Along with Arya and Sansa. I didn't really have any set image of Theon but Alfie Allen is very believable in the role.

Then there's Ned, Catelyn, Robb (bar the hair colour), Jon, Bran, Tywin, Cersei, Jaime, Joffrey, Myrcella, Dany, Viserys, Drogo, Bloodriders, the lads on and beyond the Wall, Balon, Stannis, Melisandre, Renly, Brienne, Varys, Shae, Margaery, Loras, The Hound, Ser Dontos, Lysa and Robert Arryn, who are all suberbly cast.

Tyrion doesn't look as described in the books but Dinklage has everything else nailed on.

Tommen isn't as described in the books either but he's a minor character

(at least up till now. nudge nudge)

so it hasn't been a big deal.

Asha another one, difficult character to cast though.

As mentioned earlier, Mark Addy is great as the fat, drunken king but it's hard to imagine him as a once great warrior.

quickbeam

Liked:

Ned, Catelyn, Arya, Sansa, Bran, Jorah, Dany, Robert, Jaime, Theon, Littlefinger, Davos, Stannis, Tywin, Jaqen- all pretty much how I imagined the characters or not too different.

Disliked:

Cersei - not nearly pretty enough and makes too many weird facial expressions that make her positively ugly.

Rob and Jon - though I understand why they aged them I still didn't like the change.

Joffrey - though the acting is spot on, he's not nearly "pretty" enough - I imagined him with boy-band good looks, something which would give us a reason why Sansa would fall for him at first - something like an older version of the actor that played Tommen.

Tyrion - I'm in a huge minority on this one, in fact I've not heard anybody criticize this casting, but honestly, other than being a dwarf, Tyrion and Dinklage have nothing in common. Dinklage is far too good looking for the role (it'd have worked better if they uglied him up a little), and his accent sounds too off.

Margaery - like Rob and Jon, I thought she was too old for the role. The actress is 30 - they could have aged the character a little and still had a 20 year old playing her which would have been more realistic.

Asha - too plain. I imagined her looking more warrior-like, something like Jennifer Lawrence from Hunger Games.

Also not liking the sound of future castings of (spoiler just in case):

Edmure (always thought him looking rather plain looking whereas the actor playing him is a bit more "unusual" looking) and Mance Rayder (though Hinds is a great actor, Mance was always much younger in my head)

, but once I see them in action I may be more convinced.

username123

quickbeam wrote: »

Tyrion - I'm in a huge minority on this one, in fact I've not heard anybody criticize this casting, but honestly, other than being a dwarf, Tyrion and Dinklage have nothing in common. Dinklage is far too good looking for the role (it'd have worked better if they uglied him up a little), and his accent sounds too off.

Other than the fact he is a dwarf, Peter Dinklage is far too good looking to be Tyrion. I think anyone will agree that. But despite him being far more physically attractive, I think Peter Dinklage has done a fantastic job with what he has brought to the role. If anything his personality has surpassed Tyrion of the books and Dinklage has given Tyrion a charm onscreen that surpasses what words expressed on a page. I love him as Tyrion!

Washington Irving

There aren't many actors, nevermind dwarf actors, that could pull off what Dinklage has done with Tyrion. Tyrion and Ned are the two characters who I couldn't imagine being played by anyone but Peter Dinklage and Sean Bean.

It's easy to understand why they kept him good looking as generally people are going to want to look at attractive characters. It's different in books.


Personally, I don't understand the Cersei not being pretty enough argument. She's definitely hawt enough imo and in any case, she is meant to be a kind of aging beauty.

SaulGoode9

SaulGoode9 wrote: »

Personally, I don't understand the Cersei not being pretty enough argument. She's definitely hawt enough imo and in any case, she is meant to be a kind of aging beauty.

Indeed, you'd have to get a bloody crane to pull me off her!

IK09

black francis wrote: »

Arya and Stansa are pretty spot on from the way I had them pictured. Cersei is good, Robert spot on. Sean Bean as Ned Stark worked fine for me.

Oh Sean Bean as Ned Stark "worked fine" for you did it?

Absolutely jog on there horse, Sean Bean is probably the only man that could pull off the role of the Honorable Eddard Stark.

Name me 1 viable alternative for that role

Name 1.....

username123

IK09 wrote: »

Oh Sean Bean as Ned Stark "worked fine" for you did it?

Absolutely jog on there horse, Sean Bean is probably the only man that could pull off the role of the Honorable Eddard Stark.

Name me 1 viable alternative for that role

Name 1.....

Kind of a weird aggressive post!

IK09

it was meant in a homer simpson, fist wagging, slowly delivered, "name 1..." not a Densel Washington, authoritative, dressing down kinda way, although once i re-read it, it did appear to be more of the latter

IK09

IK09 wrote: »

Oh Sean Bean as Ned Stark "worked fine" for you did it?

Absolutely jog on there horse, Sean Bean is probably the only man that could pull off the role of the Honorable Eddard Stark.

Name me 1 viable alternative for that role

Name 1.....

Although I agree Bean was perfect. Liam Neeson with a beard would have worked for me too

username123

IK09 wrote: »

it was meant in a homer simpson, fist wagging, slowly delivered, "name 1..." not a Densel Washington, authoritative, dressing down kinda way, although once i re-read it, it did appear to be more of the latter

Ah tone - the missing element of text based media!

I thought of Liam Neeson as well. Actually I think Ciaran Hinds could have done it (maybe a bit old) - looking forward to his Mance Rayder.

ibarelycare

Owryan wrote: »

Everytime I see jaime lannister I see prince charming from shrek !!

As for Mark Addy as Robert, as I see it he is not playing a fierce warrior who was loved by all the women but a fat drunken whoremonger so comparing him to his past is a little unfair .

I've thought that since the first time I saw him on screen, absolute spit of Prince Charming!

quickbeam wrote: »

Liked:

Ned, Catelyn, Arya, Sansa, Bran, Jorah, Dany, Robert, Jaime, Theon, Littlefinger, Davos, Stannis, Tywin, Jaqen- all pretty much how I imagined the characters or not too different.

Disliked:

Cersei - not nearly pretty enough and makes too many weird facial expressions that make her positively ugly.

Rob and Jon - though I understand why they aged them I still didn't like the change.

Joffrey - though the acting is spot on, he's not nearly "pretty" enough - I imagined him with boy-band good looks, something which would give us a reason why Sansa would fall for him at first - something like an older version of the actor that played Tommen.

Tyrion - I'm in a huge minority on this one, in fact I've not heard anybody criticize this casting, but honestly, other than being a dwarf, Tyrion and Dinklage have nothing in common. Dinklage is far too good looking for the role (it'd have worked better if they uglied him up a little), and his accent sounds too off.

Margaery - like Rob and Jon, I thought she was too old for the role. The actress is 30 - they could have aged the character a little and still had a 20 year old playing her which would have been more realistic.

Asha - too plain. I imagined her looking more warrior-like, something like Jennifer Lawrence from Hunger Games.

Also not liking the sound of future castings of (spoiler just in case):

Edmure (always thought him looking rather plain looking whereas the actor playing him is a bit more "unusual" looking) and Mance Rayder (though Hinds is a great actor, Mance was always much younger in my head)

, but once I see them in action I may be more convinced.

Yeah I agree about Mance Rayder, I was very surprised at the casting for him, I definitely imagined him as younger.

conorhal

I'd like to give a shout out for some of the minor characters,

Osha is a nothing character in the book but Natalia Tena really brought her wilding character to life and made her inot an actual character. The same goes for Margaery, you get no real sense of her as a character in the book (perhaps because she's not a POV character) but I really like the more scheming Margaery of the series, she seems more of a match for Cersei then she is in the book.

I think Alfie Allen is a standout as Theon, he manages to bring just the right amount of pathos to a really unlikable character.

Gwendoline Christie practically walks off the page and onto the screen as Brienne.

geeky

For me the girl who plays Arya is excellent. Just, different class altogether. Conveys the vulnerability, the fear, and also the toughness. Her added scenes with Tywin Lannister (also fabulous) give real depth to both those characters.

Tyrion is pretty darn good (indeed most of the casting is spot-on) though he was a well-respected actor even before this role. It's always more exciting to see someone come from nowhere and just nail a part.

In terms of casting I'm less convinced by, I'm not sure about Aiden Gillen - he seems almost too wry for me, amused by what's happening rather than conscious of the dangerous game he's playing. In most series, he'd be one of the stronger characters, but they've done such a fantastic job of the casting generally that he suffers by comparison!

Dubhlinner

re reading storm now and i just can't see jack gleeson as joffrey

eyeball kid

I thought Arya, Joffrey, Ned, Varys, Davos, Mormont (father and son!)and Drogo were the best cast.
I love Dinklage as Tyrion but he looks a lot different from what was portrayed in the books (very ugly and deformed)
Wasn't overly fond of Stannis in the series. I think I was just expecting a more physically impressive man than Dillane for the role.
But he's sort of grown on me at this stage and thought he was very good in S2.