[HPFGU-Movie] Has your image of the characters changed?

[ArtsyLynda at aol.com]

I'll use this handy-dandy list format of Mellissa McCarthy's to answer:

> Actors have fused with the characters in my mind:

Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter (the vast majority of the time - I thought 
that "Clint Eastwood" moment was out of character too)

> Emma Watson as Hermione Granger (except Emma is prettier than Hermione seems 
> in the first book)
> Robbie Coltrane as Rubeus Hagrid -- absolutely!
> Richard Griffiths as Vernon Dursley -- except his hair in the book is 
> black, not light
> Maggie Smith as Professor McGonagall -- excellent!
> Richard Harris as Professor Dumbledore -- outstanding!
> Warwick Davis as Professor Flitwick -- he's also the head Goblin at 
> Gringott's -- what kind of being is Flitwick, anyway? He's perfect in this 
> part.
> Zoe Wanamaker as Madam Hooch -- yes
> Simon Fisher-Becker as The Fat Friar -- I didn't have that strong an 
> impression of him from the book, so the guy portraying him is doing fine.
Alan Rickman as Snape -- he is one of my favorites, and I LOVE his 
over-the-top, scenery-chewing performance!  And how does he always get that 
cape to fly like that?  
JOhn Cleese as Nearly Headless Nick -- I like Cleese and in this part, I do 
see Cleese before Nick, but he does the part with great panache -- quite 
suitable to dear Nick, I believe.
Fred and George Weasley (I can't think of the actors' names) -- they are 
exactly as I pictured them.
Oliver Wood -- he's even better than I pictured him -- I love his accent ;->
Neville -- the boy playing him suits that character well.
Malfoy and his father -- I can't stand the kid who plays Malfoy, which is 
appropriate since Malfoy is such a bully!  His father is played with the same 
delicious scenery-chewing skill as Snape -- I dislike the character but love 
to watch that actor play him.
Kenneth Branaugh as Gilderoy -- another over-the-top actor who did a 
phenomenal job IMHO


> Actors do not match my vision of the characters:
> Julie Walters as Molly Weasley
> Fiona Shaw as Petunia Dursley
> Chris Rankin as Percy Weasley
> Dudley is supposed to be blond, and the kid playing him has dark hair -- 
other than that, he's a pretty good Dudley.  
Seamus and Dean -- they have more character in the books than in the movie -- 
both boys just kind of fade into the woodwork, aren't distinctive enough 
looking to remember, "oh yeah, they're in Harry's year, in his dorm, etc."

Personally, I hope they keep the same actors throughout the series despite 
the fact the kids are growing faster than the books.  Lots of movies and TV 
shows have people in their 20's playing teenagers.  Harry might not be a 
"little" boy for the later movies, but in reality, most boys 15 and over that 
will be normal size at maturity have started to grow by then.  They might 
look immature, but they aren't necessarily "little" unless they're always 
going to be small.  Our son was very tiny for his age until he hit 14 -- then 
he grew 10 inches in one year and he eventually was 6'2"!  Matt Damon just 
played 15 to 30's, I guess, in "Catch Me if You Can" and was convincing at 
every age -- I see no reason Dan Radcliffe and the rest can't do the same.  
JMHO.


Lynda Sappington
 <A HREF="http://www.thesculptedhorse.com/">Equine Art by Lynda Sappington</A>  Elegant equine art in bronze, cold-cast 
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