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The Usual Suspects – Police Sketch Artist Draws Literary Characters

One of the main reasons we avid readers dislike film adaptations is because the casting director can never quite find the perfect fit for how we imagine our favourite characters look.

 With this in mind Imgur user AmbitiousFall  approached a Police Sketch Artist and asked them to render a true to novel likeness of several famous book characters with the details being taken directly from descriptions found within the novels themselves, and then comparing them to the characters as portrayed in the film versions of the books.

Katniss Everdeen.

This one is almost perfect, the drawing could have been of Jennifer Lawrence herself.

Hunger Games US
Hunger Games UK

Frankenstein’s Monster.

Hmmm that’s a rather handsome mishmash of dead bits there Mary Shelley!

Frankenstein US
Frankenstein UK

Christian Grey.

Oh dear, I’m not overly enamoured of that jaw line Mr Grey, and those are the eyes of a psychopath.

Fifty Shades US
Fifty Shades UK

Javert

Oh I think this is a close match too; Russell and the literary Javert even share the same frown lines.

Les Miserables US
Les Miserables UK

Tom Ripley.

The very definitely talented Mr Matt Damon bears a surprisingly close resemblance to the author’s original creation. 

The Talented Mr. Ripley US
The Talented Mr. Ripley UK

Norman Bates.

I’m quite pleased that the casting director struggled to find someone to mirror this particular psychopath.

Psycho US
Psycho UK

Marla Singer.

Helena Bonham Carter isn’t far off at all is she; the eyes and the general face shape match up, she just needs to run a  comb through her hair.

Fight Club US
Fight Club UK

Count Dracula.

No, this one doesn’t fit any version of the count that I’ve ever imagined, and just think of the mess that moustache would be in once he’d had a nibble on someone. 

Bram Stoker’s Dracula US
Bram Stoker’s Dracula UK

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Lux Lisbon.

Kirsten Dunst works really well as Lux from The Virgin Suicides, all she needed to be perfect was a haircut.

The Virgin Suicides US
The Virgin Suicides UK

Daisy Buchanan.

The eyes have it in this one; not a bad match at all, I think I’d have identified Carey Mulligan from the sketch.

The Great Gatsby US
The Great Gatsby UK

Annie Wilkes.

Kathy Bates is an amazing actress and her portrayal of Stephen King’s Number One Cockadoodie Fan is uncanny.

Misery US
Misery UK

Jack Torrance.

Jack Nicholson looks just like a scruffier version of King’s The Shining protagonist. 

The Shining US
The Shining UK


Lisbeth Salander.

Hmmm other than the tattoo and piercings I don’t think Rooney Mara bears much more than passing resemblance to her literary original. 

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo US
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo UK

I am amazed at how closely most of the actors resemble their literary counterparts. It must be me who is interpreting the character’s physical appearance incorrectly either way the pictures are brilliant and I for one am really thankful that AmbitiousFall  went to all the effort of finding a Police Sketch Artist to draw all of these characters for us to see.

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