These Book Characters Were So Well Cast In Films And TV Shows That The Actors Pretty Much Became That Character In Our Heads

"He's exactly who I pictured in my head for that character. They captured him perfectly. (It also didn't hurt that he's extremely easy on the eyes.)"

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I'm always nervous when I see a screen adaptation of a book I love which stems primarily from a fear of them getting my fave characters wrong. But when they get them right it makes the whole movie or show even better!

Nine Network

So I recently asked the BuzzFeed community for the times that a film or TV adaptation perfectly nailed a character from the book. Here are the best responses:

1. Jonathan Bailey as Anthony – Bridgerton

Netflix

"I really enjoyed the casting decisions for most of the Bridgerton characters. Jonathan as Anthony is exceptional. He played the overprotective brother perfectly in season one and conveyed Anthony's struggle with duty and honour after his father died. Anthony put so much pressure on himself when he became the man of the house while also grieving and Jonathan did a great job depicting that side of Anthony."

—smokeyandvv

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Here's Anthony and Kate's romantic story:

youtube.com

2. Kristen Stewart as Bella – Twilight

Summit Entertainment

"A lot of people (including myself) mock the Twilight series, but I think a lot of the actors were perfectly cast and portrayed. Especially Kristen Stewart as Bella. People say that Kristen can’t act because of those movies where she was bland/boring, but that’s exactly how she was in the books!"

—silentmeadow

Watch Kristen as Bella here:

youtube.com

3. Aaliyah as Akasha – Queen of The Damned

Warner Bros. Pictures

"Even though the film was such trash, Aaliyah played Akasha exactly as I saw her I'm my head when I read The Vampire Chronicles."

—novemberrayne

Watch the moment Akasha arrives:

youtube.com

4. Sam Heughan as Jamie Fraser – Outlander

Starz

"Sam as Jamie is absolutely spot-on perfect. You could even say that he was sightly better than the book's version!"

—jlawston24

Here are five minutes of Sam being Jamie:

youtube.com

5. Henry Cavill as Geralt – The Witcher

Netflix

"Henry is absolutely brilliant as Geralt! And I highly encourage everyone to read The Witcher short stories, they are awesome."

—olab3

Watch Henry encompassing Geralt's dry humour:

youtube.com

6. Maggie Smith as Professor McGonagall – Harry Potter

Warner Bros. Pictures

"Maggie was spot-on casting for me, down to the voice. I squeed when I saw her on screen for the first time, she was just so darn perfect for the role!"

—ravenbard

Watch some of Mcgonagall's best bits:

youtube.com

7. Julianne Moore as President Alma Coin – The Hunger Games: Mockingjay

Lionsgate

"You can say what you will about the quality of The Hunger Games, either book or movie, but it was one of the absolute best-cast adaptations in history. This is particularly true of President Alma Coin in the Mockingjay movies.

I remember when she was cast, one of the questions being discussed online was whether the actress would dye her hair grey. I actually had to go look up whether the book described her as grey-haired (and it did), because, in my own head, she was already so thoroughly Julianne Moore, I'd been assuming it was red."

—dingospleen

Watch Julianne in action here:

youtube.com

8. Gwendoline Christie as Brienne of Tarth – Game of Thrones

HBO

"Gwendoline was amazing, from her astonishing eyes to her bravery, vulnerability, and strength. She is the perfect personification of that character! Even George R.R. Martin agreed!"

—elissak4cc3926bd

Here's Brienne being a badass:

youtube.com

9. Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn – The Lord of the Rings

New Line Cinema

"He's exactly who I pictured in my head for that character. They captured him perfectly. (It also didn't hurt that he's extremely easy on the eyes.)"

—shauna_malwae-tweep

Watch the best of Aragorn here:

youtube.com

10. Leonardo DiCaprio as Frank Wheeler – Revolutionary Road

Paramount Vintage

"I’d read the book years before the movie adaptation came out, but I shook my head in displeasure when I’d heard he’d been cast as the male protagonist in the film. I always knew Leo was a great actor, but I could just not fathom him in that role. 

The joke was on me because Leo was magnificent and should have picked up his first Oscar for his performance. Instead, not even a nomination. A shame. I would urge everyone to see the film – the acting is incredible on every actor’s part. Sublime."

—boxingcleverlancaster

Here's Leo being Frank:

youtube.com

11. Matt Damon as Mark Watney – The Martian

20th Century Fox

"I was mildly obsessed with the book and probably read it over 20 times before the movie came out. Seeing Matt as Mark just clicked so beautifully for me. I felt like I was watching how the book appeared in my head in real life."

—frenzicartist

Here's Matt as Mark putting some laughter into tense moments:

youtube.com

12. Robbie Coltrane as Hagrid – Harry Potter

Warner Bros. Pictures

"I'm not surprised that he was the first actor to be cast for the movies, they knew he would be perfect, and they were correct."

—oh_bother

Watch the best of Hagrid:

youtube.com

13. Tom Sturridge as Dream – The Sandman

Netflix

"Tom is really great as Dream. He portrays this stoic but also self-absorbed being really faithfully and in a way that’s relatable."

—6eor6e

Here's Tom as Dream:

youtube.com

14. Jenny Walser as Tori Spring – Heartstopper

Netflix

"Jenny perfectly nailed the character of Tori, just perfect."

—philipn4226793a2

Here's Tori's best bits:

youtube.com

15. Tom Felton as Draco Malfoy – Harry Potter

Warner Bros. Pictures

"I know it's a basic answer but the sneer, the emotion, the way you could see his inner conflict was just perfection. Also, the “Pottah” was just *chef’s kiss*."

—thatonedoodlebug

Watch some of Malfoy's best moments:

youtube.com

16. The main cast – Shadow And Bone

Netflix

"Although they’ve aged them up quite a bit, they are all amazing in their roles and I cannot imagine someone else playing them, especially the Crows."

—shadesofcruel

Watch the Crows in Shadow and Bone:

youtube.com

17. Andre the Giant as Fezzik – The Princess Bride

20th Century Fox

"I mean the writer, William Goldman, literally based the character on him so no wonder he was perfect!"

—philipn4226793a2

Watch some of Fezzik here:

youtube.com

18. Emilia Clarke as Louisa Clark – Me Before You

Warner Bros. Pictures

"Emilia is just as I imagined the character from the book, both in looks and how she plays her."

—staceyleighk

Check out Louisa's best moments here:

youtube.com

19. Ian McKellan as Gandalf – The Lord of the Rings

New Line Cinema

"I’m creating my account again just to say this: Ian McKellan as Gandalf. He is Gandalf!"

—banana_bebop

Here are some of his best scenes:

youtube.com

20. Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch – To Kill a Mockingbird

Universal Pictures

"Gregory was a perfect Atticus. He is such a great character, and Peck absolutely did him justice."

—unrepentant_cow

Watch Atticus' closing argument:

youtube.com

21. Ruth Wilson as Mrs. Coulter and James McAvoy as Lord Asriel – His Dark Materials

BBC1

"This adaptation of Phillip Pullman's novel series had brilliant casting all around, but these two were SPOT ON! Ruth brought so much nuance to a really complex character, and James was breathtakingly intense and charismatic, exactly as I had always pictured Lord Asriel."

—katemalvarez90

Here's the scene the two of the reunited:

youtube.com

22. Storm Reid as Meg Murray – A Wrinkle in Time

Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

"Casting Storm was absolutely brilliant and I tell you why. I related to Meg in the book in a big way. The way Madeleine L’Engle depicted her physically and emotionally resembled me and I have loved that book for nearly 35 years. Storm looks NOTHING like me, in fact, most of the actors don’t look like the literary characters but it all WORKS! Especially Storm – that young woman is a force of nature! She’s how I picture Meg now when I reread the book."

—joannah4f6316aec

Here's Storm as Meg:

youtube.com

23. Jennifer Ehle as Elizabeth Bennet and Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy – Pride and Prejudice

BBC1

"Say what you will but Jennifer and Colin from the 1995 BBC adaptation will always be the OG Elizabeth Bennet and Mr Darcy over the book version and even the otherwise brilliant Keira Knightley and Matthew Macfayden. I WILL die on this hill!"

—sophiephilo

Here's the two of them in Pride and Prejudice:

youtube.com

24. Neil Patrick Harris as Count Olaf – A Series of Unfortunate Events

Netflix

"With all of his disguises and showmanship, he was just perfect for the role!

—cassandrahumphreys

Here's his first scene:

youtube.com

25. The main cast – Troy

Warner Bros. Pictures

"I had a lot of complaints about Troy, but casting (mostly) wasn’t one of them. Eric Bana as Hector, Brian Cox as Agamemnon, Orlando Bloom as Paris, Sean Bean, Peter O’Toole, Diane Kruger, and Brendan Gleeson are all perfect. My one complaint was Brad Pitt, who was 20 years too old to play Achilles."

—senexbarbatus

Here's a clip from the director's cut:

youtube.com

26. Nite Owl and Rorschach – Watchmen (film)

Warner Bros. Pictures

"Both Nite Owl and Rorschach in Watchmen are absolutely perfect. Ozymandias leaves some to be desired but those two and a few other characters are superb."

—murrays3

You can see them in Watchmen here:

youtube.com

27. Noomi Rapace as Lisbeth Salander – The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

Nordisk Film

"It was Lisbeth as I pictured her in the books come to life, with that same powerful, dark energy. Amazing casting and performance."

—papadimitriouirina

Here's Noomi as Lisbeth:

youtube.com

28. The main cast – Fried Green Tomatoes

Universal Pictures

"The entire cast was pretty spot on. The movie did leave a lot of stuff out, but the casting was basically a perfect match to the book descriptions."

—dellarock

Watch Idgie and Ruth from Fried Green Tomatoes here:

youtube.com

Editor's note: Some of these submissions have been edited for length or clarity.

When has a movie or TV show nailed a book character that you loved? Let us know in the comments below! Want to be featured in similar BuzzFeed posts? Be sure to follow the BuzzFeed Community on Facebook and Twitter.

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