As the old gag goes, Game of Thrones is like a tweet: it's got 140 characters and usually ends with something horrible.
So far, the show's makers have done an amazing job of casting all those characters – easily 140 of them – and in nearly every case, the actor embodies the role exactly as described by George RR Martin in his books.
Now and again, though, they deviate slightly. Mostly because special effects just don't allow for it (like Tyrion's missing nose), but sometimes because George just wrote them silly. Don't believe us? Check out what five of your favourite characters would look like if the show followed the books to the letter.
1. Tyrion Lannister
While the show's Tyrion gained an impressive scar at the Battle of the Blackwater, in the books, he lost his nose. He's described as having green and black eyes, as well as blond and black hair, which is confusing to say the least.
2. Ramsay Bolton
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Iwan Rheon has the crazy-eyes thing down pat, but it's fair to say his is a flattering portrait of the psychopathic "mad dog" of the Dreadfort. Martin says Ramsay is big-boned, slope-shouldered, fleshy, pink and blotchy with a broad nose and small, close-set eyes ("pale, like chips of dirty ice"), long dry hair, and "wormy" lips. Phwoar.
3. Brienne of Tarth
Sorry Gwendoline Christie, you're just too good looking. The 6ft 3in actress may have Brienne's height, but her noble, if unimaginative, warrior is meant to be manly and flat-chested, with two teeth knocked out, a wide, swollen mouth and a broken nose. But she does have notably pretty eyes, at least as perceived by Jaime Lannister, so we've made a bit more of them in our rendition.
4. Daario Naharis
Yes, blue. Michiel Huisman's sellsword has charm to spare, but would Daenerys, Breaker of Chains, Mother of Dragons and, presumably, a woman with her pick of the boys (and girls), choose him as her bedmate if he looked like he does in the books? Not counting in his favour: a three-pointed blue beard, gold moustache and gold tooth. Mate, you're a badass mercenary, not a Glastonbury juggler. He also has a "large, curving nose", which Huisman notably does not.
5. Ser Jorah Mormont
Iain Glen is certainly a big man, and hairy, just as Martin describes. He's even balding: top marks. But the books' Ser Jorah is a dark, bear-like man with a demon-face tattoo on his cheek to signify that he's an escaped slave.
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Editor, Digital Spy Chris has over 25 years' experience as a writer and editor, having worked as a journalist covering TV and movies since the '90s. Starting out as a TV listings editor at the Press Association, he was quickly hired by the nascent Heat magazine, where he rose to become Senior Editor, interviewing the likes of Simon Cowell, Boris Johnson and Paris Hilton. Over the years he has written about entertainment with clarity and wit for Heat, Elle, Q, The Telegraph and of course Digital Spy, and has served many times as a judge in the Royal Television Society awards. He has written and recorded a novelty single with Lord Lloyd-Webber, written scripts for the National TV Awards, made Noel Edmonds cry, accidentally punched an Inbetweener and stolen a small piece of rubble from the Battle of Hogwarts movie set. (They can't have it back.) LinkedIn
