[Viv]

Some folks (me included) were discussing how our visions of Aragorn have been permanently adjusted by Viggo's protrayal of the character. Similarly, when we see Gandalf in our mind's eye, we see Ian McKellan in the role.

There are some characters that are, at least in my mind, forever changed (most times in a good way) by the movie.

However, some just weren't touched, and for some I cling to the book characterization because I didn't like the movie one. For instance, although I think Orlando Bloom is just beautiful, and I didn't mind his uber-serious warrior-elf portrayal (it certainly made the girly in me sit up and take notice), it didn't gel with the tra-la-la Legolas I knew from the books. So I don't really see Orlando's face when I think about or write about Legolas.

What about y'all?

[eiranae]

I agree about Legolas. When I'm reading a story with him in it, I never visualize Orlando Bloom. Arwen and Elrond didn't really jive with my mental pictures either, but I can't complain about the acting with Elrond.

The rest fit the bill so well that they changed my initial thoughts of the characters for the better. It's hard to think of Boromir or Aragorn without seeing a mental picture of Sean Bean and Viggo Mortensen.

[Alassante]

I know some people will scream to the heavens above but I really didn't like all the tra-la-la-la in book Legolas. I preferred the kick ass warrior portrayal of elves than skipping through the forest. But then again I'm one of the ones who wanted to shoot myself during the chapter with Tom Bombadil. And now that I've read the Silmarillion I have a harder time dealing with elves as anything but kick ass warriors. Of course they're all kinds of talented with singing too BUT in a masculine way.

Can you imagine anyone else as Eomer?? I think I will always think of most of the actors as the movie characters except one - Glorfindel. Even though he was 'left out' of the movie, the pic the claimed later was supposedly him was very destressing. He looked 12!!! Oh, and maybe Faramir even though I loved the actor in Van Helsing. Originally I thought Michele Pfeiffer(spe?) would have made a great Gladdy but Cate did such a wonderful job.

I know a lot of Harry Potter fans don't like the new Dumbledore either but personally I thought Richard Harris was looking pretty frail in the role and cannot imagine him doing some of the scenes from the last movie without me worrying he was going to break. While I did end up preferring the new Dumbledore, Gandalf needs to be Ian McKellen IMO

[Viv]

Yeah, Bean definitely helped heal a mind flayed by the pantsless Boromir in the Bakshi cartoon. (Not that Bean pantsless would be particularly disturbing, mind.)

[NeumeIndil]

In my mind, Eomer always looked more like David Gilmour at age 28 than Karl Urban (not that I mind looking at either of them of course). I won't go into the rant I have prepared about what happened to that character in the movie, but suffice to say his looks were the least of my concerns.

Aragorn, actually, they got close to the face I saw in my head, but the Boromir I pictured in my head looked more like Kevin Smith or Jack Black than Sean Bean. (The men of Gondor are not supposed to be blond!) As far as the acting goes, though, my mental Aragorn was a little less... gentled, than the film version. Mortensen's Aragorn seemed almost elvin, which is certainly a reasonable direction in which to take the character, but I never lost sight of the manishness of the character in the books, while it's fairly easy to overlook that he's actually the Dunadan in the films (except for the stubble). Ian McK. was darn close to the Gandalf I pictured, but like Viv said, Orlando Bloom isn't Legolas in my mind either.

The one that changed for the positive the most strongly for me, I think, was Eowyn. Had the ages been right, I'd have almost switched Cate B. and Miranda O. The Eowyn I read was the same sort of tall, stern, warrior that her brother was, but Miranda did an excellent job of bringing the character's age into the fore, reminding us that yes she had gumption and chutzpah to spare, but she was also 26 years old, and by no means ready to go down without a fight, or a true love.

[vladazhael]

[Haleth]

[NeumeIndil]

I can see it, Vlad. (Which reminds me: I have a Harry Potter bunny wandering around the house nibbling furniture. I should track it down and scritch its chin for a while.)

[Haleth]

To answer the original question, Ian McKellan is Gandalf and they'd best make The Hobbit sooner rather than later because he isn't getting any younger and it would really take away from the movie to have someone else in that role.

[vladazhael]

[RJLCyberPunk]

I think Ian portrayed Gendalf excellently just as he did with Magneto in the X-Men movies and the characters are so diametrically opposite to each other I often find myself wondering what would happen if the 2 characters ever met face to face.

[magis]

[Haleth]

I totally agree about Martin Freeman. He has an amazing talent for being the Everyman that the audience can relate to. He's absolutely stellar in the BBC's revampes Sherlock, too. It's not easy playing Joe Average to over-the-top characters (like Benedict Cumberpatch's Sherlock) but Freeman does it with such natural grace that he makes it look like the simplest thing in the world.