Can't take TV shows seriously any more because characters are too good-looking!

Thinking about this a bit more I think the biggest culprits for this are the regular American Network channels. These are the stations that air shows that are designed to be consumed on a one off basis if necessary. So all of the shows are very loosely connected to the others in a series but are usually self contained so that the casual viewer can watch an episode here and there. Stuffing the casts with photogenic actors I presume helps their cause and boosts ratings (and thus advertising revenues).

So classic examples of shows of this type would be any of the CSI shows, Suits, How I Met Your mother, Bones, Grey's Anatomy etc etc. I don't think James Gandolfini would have gotten the lead role on The Sopranos if it hadn't been on HBO. Likewise Elizabeth Moss wouldn't have landed one of the biggest parts in Mad Men had that been on Network TV instead of AMC. Thank god for that because the two of them are amazing actors.

Da Shins Kelly wrote: »

I dunno, man. A few rough looking people in Game of Thrones, but also some incredibly attractive people too. The dudes that play Jon Snow, Robb Stark, Jamie Lannister and Gendry are all straight up rides. The dragon lady is stunning, as is Cersei.

All of the bolded are supposed to be beautiful. They're not just gorgeous for the sake of TV ratings, their stunning good looks are family traits and are often of importance to the character. For example, Cersei's stunning good looks made her hand in marriage a total prize, and they are something she uses to her advantage in seducing or distracting people to manipulate them. Gendry's good looks were like Robert's in his prime.

Deleted User wrote: »

What I hate is when Americans make remakes of TV shows and then cast people that could be models in the roles - look at the IT Crowd, when they replaced Chris O' Dowd with Joel McHale, or what they did with the Inbetweeners. Heck, even look at their version of Being Human, where every cast member looked model-esque.

That Being Human is a Canadian remake, not a US one. You can tell because everyone is nearly perfect looking but still a little bit off. And also, because it's sh(t.

Lingua Franca wrote: »

There were lots of ridiculously hot prositutes in Kings Landing but the ones in Mole Town in the recent episode were er... you're actually charging?!

It's a fair assessment, though, I can't argue with that. Jon Snow isn't supposed to be a looker yet Kit Harrison is absolutely gorgeous, and there's a fair few other people that are a lot more attractive on TV than they were described in the books, like Jorah of House Friendzone. I was just bickering about some of your examples because, for example, Cersei's good looks, the fading of them and her subsequent jealousy towards Margaery are an important part of her character development. I agree that otherwise there are way too many healthy, pretty, straight white toothed types in this supposed medieval quagmire.

Brienne the Beauty is actually too beautiful. But books > TV

THIS sprang to mind though

Alf. A. Male wrote: »

On an only tangentially related note, I've always wondered how they cast for obviously unsavoury roles. Do agents ring their clients and say "We have a role for a fatty with a face only a mother could love. I immediately thought of you"? Work is work and all, but that must be awkward.

Yes they do! Acting is one of the more brutally honest professions where when you go for a job you will be told that you didn't get it because you're too fat, too ugly, half an inch too short, or you have odd-looking knees. And you will be told that. It won't be a matter of, "Sorry, you're not what we're looking for".

If you're an actor and you're not honest with yourself about who you are and what you look like, you're gonna have a bad time.

Casting directors, directors and script writers usually have a very specific image in their heads and will off-hand reject people who fall outside that. To a certain extent I guess it's easier to be rejected for a role because you don't look right rather than because you're ****. For most actors it would be far more crushing to be told that you can't act rather than be told that "you're good but we're looking for a 16-year old redhead girl, not a 40-something man-bear".

Eggy Baby! wrote: »

I like Game of Thrones so much because a lot of the actors and actresses genuinely look like people plucked off the street. It allows you to concentrate on the drama rather than thinking "did this person get their job because they were photogenic instead of their acting ability?"

GOT to a certain extent got lucky because the books are quite descriptive about the main characters being attractive people. Looks-wise I slightly disagree with the casting of Peter Dinklage, but apparently George Martin hand-picked Dinklage, and he's an incredible actor, so who am I to argue.

I also believe that Martin only provided the rights to HBO on the agreement that all casting calls would take place outside of the US. This ensures that your calls aren't crammed full of plastic-surgerified blonde twentysomethings looking to make their break and the accents will be more authentic. This is reflects well in the show especially in the nudity where the prostitutes are all normal size, shape and weight rather than boney failed models with perfect teeth.
The accents are all also fairly spot on, with the exception of Aiden Gillen, who's just cringeworthy.

Da Shins Kelly wrote: »

Aiden Gillen's is the worst though, there can hardly be any dispute about that?

You should hear his accent in Calvery. It's like a cross between John Boy and Wurzel Gummidge.

Is that why nobody takes me seriously?

I always found Aiden Gillen to be a pretty **** actor but he was terrible in the latest ep of GOT. That accent was all over the shop.

TeddyTedson wrote: »

They need a black gay transgendered paraplegic Jewish kid to join the school.

he better be Aborigine too