Game Of Thrones: How Each Lannister Is Supposed To Look

The Lannisters of Casterly Rock, that family of golden lions, is played with aplomb by every actor in Game of Thrones. From Charles Dance’s patriarch, Tywin to Jack Gleeson’s petulant child King Joffrey, the casting department certainly did their due diligence when it came to picking who would play each Lannister.

However, while we can appreciate the performances, book fans of George R.R. Martin’s epic series may have been slightly confused when their favorite characters stepped on-screen as quite a few looked a bit differently than how they were described on the page. Here are the Lannisters as they were originally written.

9 Tywin Lannister

Tywin Lannister, Charles Dance’s family patriarch, was not supposed to look almost anything like Charles Dance himself. Tywin was supposed to be slender (Dance certainly is as well) but he was supposed to be broad-shouldered and in his fifties as well (Dance is actually seventy-three). Thaldir’s fanart has the right idea. Tywin, like Varys, is supposed to be completely bald, since he’s been shaving his head for years. To make up for the loss of his golden hair Tywin is supposed to have grown out bushy golden side-whiskers (which he certainly does not have on HBO). His eyes are supposed to be green.

8 Jaime Lannister

Jaime, the golden son, like actor Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, is supposed to be tall and handsome (Coster-Waldau certainly fits that description). However, Jaime’s hair is supposed to be curled, and the color of beaten gold (as in Sigune’s drawing). Even with his far more golden hair in season one of the series Coster-Waldau’s Jaime certainly seems to be missing the mane described in the books. Jaime is also supposed to be strong and very muscular. On-screen he’s on a bit more the lean than he is muscley.

7 Cersei Lannister

After watching eight seasons of Game of Thrones it’s all but impossible to imagine anyone other than Lena Headey as Cersei Lannister. However, there were a few differences between Headey and the character described in the books. While both Headey and Cersei are strikingly beautiful, as well as fair and slender, she too is missing the more epically described gold of her golden hair, as her twin brother is. (See the gold of Marta Andreeva’s drawing). She also lacks emerald green eyes.

6 Tyrion Lannister

The youngest of Tywin’s children, Tyrion on-screen (played by the incomparable Peter Dinklage) is far more attractive than the character described by George R.R. Martin in his novels. (See Magali Villeneuve drawing for proof.) In the books, Tyrion has stubby legs, a jutted forehead, mismatched eyes (one green and one black) as well as a mixture of pale blond and black hair (rather than the spun gold of his elder siblings).

His wounds too are more severe after the Battle of the Blackwater. On the page, he isn’t just scarred he basically loses his nose entirely.

5 Joffrey Baratheon

He may have the last name of Baratheon, but Joffrey is a Lannister through and through. Jack Gleeson does a stupendous job of portraying Joffrey’s cruel and demanding personality, but he lacks the curly blond hair Joffrey has in the books. While Gleeson is handsome, as Joffrey is described he, like the other Lannister actors, lacks the green eyes of his family. Gleeson is also a little too old to play Joffrey, as in the books the young king is only twelve years old. That’s why he looks much younger in Lenkty’s interpretation.

4 Myrcella Baratheon

Myrcella, like her elder brother Joffrey, is a Lannister rather than a Baratheon. Nell Tiger Free may have blond hair, but it again lacks the curls mentioned in the books. Myrcella is also supposed to have emerald eyes and full lips. She’s delicate and beautiful, as Free certainly is, but like Gleeson, Free is too old for the young princess described in the books. Myrcella Baratheon on the page is a girl of only eight years. See the age-appropriate Myrcella by Thaldir.

3 Tommen Baratheon

Tommen, the youngest Lannister (again, like his siblings, born of incest) was played for most of his television life by Dean Charles Chapman. Again, despite being blond, Chapman’s hair was not long and curly as Tommen’s is in the books. Tommen is also described as plump, along with having green eyes. Chapman, like the other young actors on the show, was never quite young enough to portray the Tommen of the novels, as Tommen in George R.R. Martin’s original world is only seven. See an appropriately long-haired and baby-ish Tommen by kraehenkunst.

2 Lancel Lannister

Poor abused Lancel Lannister, he was never the Lannister anyone really cared about. In the books, Lancel is described as handsome and strong (he’s never particularly strong on the show). He is supposed to have thick sandy hair and green eyes, along with the wisp of a mustache.

On the page, hs is supposed to greatly resemble Jaime. On-screen actor Eugene Simon never looks very much like Coster-Waldau at all. See a stronger more appropriate looking Lancel by Henning.

1 Kevan Lannister

Kevan Lannister is the younger brother of Tywin, works hard leading the Lannister armies before arriving at Kings Landing to play Hand of the King in season six. In the books, Kevan is supposed to look a bit like his brother. He has fair skin, golden hair, and a close-cropped beard (see him beside his brother, Tywin, in Hed-ush’s drawing). He’s portly, with a huge jaw, and the Lannnister green eyes. On-screen actor Ian Gelder is almost none of these things.

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