On-Screen Characters That Look Nothing Like They’re Described In The Books

The beautiful thing about reading is that an author can paint their readers a portrait of a character from absolutely nothing. We’re able to imagine them perfectly. And when those characters are transferred to the screen, casting directors have a literal how-to on who to cast.

Sometimes, though, it feels like those casting directors took naps when they should have been conducting proper research. These are the worst page-to-screen casting fails fans have ever seen.

Jane (“The Twilight Saga”)

“At first I thought it was a young boy. The newcomer was as tiny as Alice, with lank, pale brown hair trimmed short. The body under the cloak was slim and androgynous. The wide-eyed, full lipped face would make a Botticelli angel look like a gargoyle.

Even allowing for the dull crimson irises.”

Jane (“The Twilight Saga”)

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Dakota Fanning is fairly small, yes, but she certainly isn’t androgynous, and that hair is pretty much the opposite of lank, pale brown, or even short. As a character who’s supposed to be mistaken for her twin brother, though? She’s nowhere close.

Jack Reacher (Jack Reacher series)

“He was one of the largest men she had ever seen outside the NFL. He was extremely tall, and extremely broad, and long-armed, and long-legged. His neck was thick and his hands were the size of dinner plates… A wild man.

But not really.”

Jack Reacher (Jack Reacher series)

Tom Cruise is 5-feet-7-inches officially (although purported to be shorter) and, well, not exactly a “wild man.” Unless you count that couch incident.