Turning a book into a movie might look like an easier job than creating an original plot due to the available source material but that’s not. Adapting books comes with a storm of pressure from the author and readers. Everyone expects you do to be as original as possible to the origin which is not easy due to the limited time. The least fans can expect is the characters they have read about to look exactly how they had imagined. Directors go with actors who are either popular or share similarities with the characters. Sometimes it doesn’t matter if the actor doesn’t look like he/she should have according to the pages as long as the acting is topnotch. But it is disappointing to an extent if the on-screen version doesn’t share any resemblance to their book counterpart. It kinda sucks up the excitement. Here are 10 movie characters who do not look like their book descriptions.
Keira Knightley as Elizabeth Bennet
Keira is a terrific actress who portrayed Elizabeth Bennet from “Pride and Prejudice” brilliantly. She was an intelligent, bold, and vivacious woman who loved to be herself without caring about what society and her mother demanded of her. Keira acted that out well but her appearance was not fitting for Elizabeth. The actress was too beautiful for her character who was described as “not handsome enough to tempt” Mr. Darcy. Even the director was reluctant to cast Keira for the same reason.
Tom Hanks as Robert Langdon
To be fair, we can’t think of anyone playing Robert Langdon other than Tom Hanks. As rightly described by the author, Dan Brown “you enjoy watching him think. He’s not a physical hero, he’s a thinking hero”. It is true since Robert Langdon from The Da Vinci Code known for his knowledge and analytical thinking. But when it comes to appearance, Langdon was described as a tall man with an athlete’s body and a deep voice that his students called “chocolate for ears”. Hanks partly matched the appearance but surely didn’t get a tick against the swimmer’s body. Even Dan Brown compared Landon to Harrison Ford who looks nothing like Tom Hanks.
Michael Fassbender as Rochester
Michael Fassbender played Edward Rochester in the film adaption of the iconic classic “Jane Eyre” by Charlotte Bronte. If you have read “Jane Eye”, you know that the handsome and good-looking Michael was continents apart from Mr. Rochester in terms of appearance. Rochester was explicitly described as an unattractive man with a stern face and heavy brows who was Jane’s ultimate love. The director admitted to this difference but went with Michael anyway since he liked his work.
Daniel Radcliff, Emma Watson &Rupert Grint as Harry, Hermione & Ron
One of the best Hollywood adaptions of a novel series is none other than the Harry Potter franchise. Even though Warner Bros. took a lot of liberty with their creativity and deleted significant parts, the creators, director, and the whole team deserved praise for their hard work. However, none of the protagonists- Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasley looked like their book counterparts.
In the books, Harry had bright green eyes and black hair, unlike young Daniel who had blue eyes. But the director got a green signal from J.K. Rowling as long as Harry’s eyes resembled his mom’s in the film. Emma’s Hermione on the other hand had frizzy hair with bushy eyebrows and protruding teeth. And even though Rupert Grint had red hair, his book counterpart was a tall and lanky boy. But, it didn’t matter given how amazingly Emma and Rupert played out the roles.
Tom Cruise as Jack Reacher
Jack Reacher is a famous character from Lee Child’s series of 20 novels and short stories. The former US Army sniper was a 6’ft 5 inches tall man with a heavy built and a broad chest measuring about 50- inches. Jack had blond hair and bright blue eyes. Out of all the people you imagine to see as Jack Reacher, Tom Cruise would be the last person. To begin with, he is 5 feet 7 inches tall and flaunts a young and cute looking face unlike the hard sculptor like the face of Reacher.
Shailene Woodley as Beatrice ‘Tris’ Prior
Shailene played Tris in the Divergent movie series that was adapted from Veronica Roth’s novels: Divergent, Insurgent, and Allegiant. The Tris in the books had blonde hair with a long and thin face and big blue eyes. Shailene was not even close to the character. She had brown hair with an oval face and brown eyes. Even in “Insurgent” where Tris’ hair was supposed to be chin-length, Shailene got a pixie haircut.
Dakota Fanning as Jane
In Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight book series, the cold and evil Jane resembled a young boy. She was described as tiny, slim, and androgynous with brown hair trimmed short. But her face was in contrast to her overall appearance for her beautiful and wide-eyed face. Jane and her twin Alec looked so similar that one could have confused them with each other. But in the movies, Dakota Johnson didn’t look anything close to Cameron Bright’s Alec. Moreover, she wasn’t tiny nor did she have brown hair.
Daniel Craig as James Bond
Daniel Craig brought justice to the iconic James Bond with his exceptional acting talents. But when it comes to looks, Daniel and James Bond look poles apart. In the author’s words, Bond was a 6 ft tall man with lean physic and hair long enough to fall over his forehead. Even though Craig’s personality was impressive as Agent 007, his physical appearance and hair was nothing like Bond’s. Bond also had a prominent scar on his cheek which was missing from that of Craig.
Emma Stone as Skeeter
In 2011, Emma Stone starred in the Academy Award-nominated film “The Help” as Skeeter. The amazing film was adapted from Kathryn Stockett’s novel of the same title. In the novel, Skeeter was one of the lead characters who was described as a tall and scrawny woman with a crooked nose. Emma did have red hair like her character except she looked nothing like the Skeeter we had imagined.
Jack Nicholson as Randle Patrick McMurphy
“One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” was a critically successful movie that also won over the audience. Jack Nicholson also won an Academy Award for his portrayal of R.P. McMurphy. However, the author of the novel from where the film was adapted refused to watch the movie for two prime reasons. He was angry about the fact that it was shown from McMurphy’s perspective instead of Chief’s like in the books. He was also against casting Jack Nicholson since he didn’t fit the character’s shoes and looked nothing like McMurphy. To start with, McMurphy had red hair whereas Nicholson had black hair.
