Perception

Ever read the description of a character in a book, put your own spin on the characters's look only to be disappointed when they make a movie and that character looks nothing like what you imagined? You wouldn't be the only one. From what I hear, a lot of people do. The only explanation I can think of is everyone has something that appeals to them, key things they're attracted to. In a book, the author shows you what they think the character looks like in their head. You can take that information and morph it into whatever you want. In the movies, you can't do that. You are told, visually, 'this is what the character looks like - DEAL'.

I'm guilty of it myself. Especially when it comes to other people's books. I take the details the author gives me, and my brain automatically fills in what it wants. For me, the most recent example is Roarke in the ...In Death series by J D Robb.

His physical statistics are as follows:

Height: 6 feet, 2 inches
Age: approximately 34 years old
Weight: 173 pounds
Eye color: blue
Hair color: black, long enough that he can and has tied it back

All of it works for me - except the hair. See, he's a billionaire businessman who owns a hell of a lot, slick and smooth. The longer hair doesn't work in my head. Every time I read (and since there's 30+ books in the series, w/ two published each year, there's a lot to read) I will actually skim over any reference to it. /badauthor

So, what about you...do you find yourself with one image of a character even though its not accurate to the way they're described and/or shown?