His Dark Materials: How Each Character (& Daemon) Is Supposed To Look

His Dark Materials, the strange and wonderful trilogy by the British author Philip Pullman, has recently been brought to magical life by HBO. Though the series stays largely true to the books and their spirit, it does take some liberties with the appearances of the various characters.

For those who want to know what the characters, as well as their dæmons, look like in the books, here are how some of the major characters are described.

10 Lyra/Pantalaimon

While the series depicts her as being dark-haired (probably in an effort to draw a stronger connection between her and Mrs. Coulter), in the original novel Lyra is specifically mentioned as having blonde-hair with blue eyes. She was also noted for being short for a girl her age. For his part, during most of the series her dæmon Pantalaimon, like most immature dæmons, changes shapes frequently, though by the end he settles on the form of a pine marten.

9 Mrs. Coulter/The Golden Monkey

Mrs. Coulter is, in the novels, one of the primary antagonists and a fearsome personality. She was known for her beauty, which was so striking that most who saw her made note of it. There is some ambiguity about the color of her hair, for while it was originally described as dark (as it appears in the television series), Pullman later revised it to be blonde (largely due to Nicole Kidman’s performance in the earlier film version). In the books her dæmon has no name but has settled as a golden monkey, while in the TV series it is a golden snub-nosed monkey.

8  Lord Asriel/Stelmaria

Unsurprisingly, the novel describes Lord Asriel as a man of fearsome aspect, with strong shoulders and eyes that, at times, seemed to be full of a sort of malicious humor. It is perhaps because of his striking physical appearance that he is able to so effortlessly capture the loyalty of those that follow him and even manage to steal Mrs. Coulter’s affection.

His appearance in the series reflects this, with James McAvoy being about the right age. His dæmon Stelmaria settled in the form of a fearsome snow leopard.

7 Serafina Pekkala/Kaisa

Serafine Pekkala is a member of the mysterious group known in the books as witches. The novel describes her as having blonde hair and green eyes and as being very pretty. Her dæmon in the books is described as being a snow goose. In the television series, she is shown as having dark hair, and her dæmon Kaisa has been changed to that of a gyrfalcon (perhaps because it is nobler looking than a goose).

6  Lee Scoresby/Hester

In a book full of fascinating characters, Lee Scoresby still manages to stand out. Hailing from Texas, he is described in the book as being lean, with a black mustache and blue eyes (Lin-Manuel Miranda manages to capture some of this in the series). He is steadfastly and fiercely loyal to Lyra. He has a friendly but sarcastic relationship with his dæmon Hester, who by the time of the books has settled into the form of an arctic hare.

5  Will Parry/Kirjava

One of the few major characters in the novel not to come from Lyra’s world, Will Parry comes to play a significant role in both Lyra’s fate and that of all of the interconnected worlds. In the books, he is described as having dark hair, a jutting jaw, and wide cheekbones, and in the TV series he is depicted as a person of color. Though, being from our world, he doesn’t have a dæmon at first, when he travels beyond it she manifests as large cat and takes the exotic name Kirjava.

4 Lord Boreal

Carol Boreal is one of the more enigmatic characters in the novels. In them, he appears as an older English gentleman who is most likely in his sixties who smells very sweet, while the show depicts him as a middle-aged man of color.

He becomes one of the primary antagonists in The Subtle Knife, though the television series significantly expands his role in the first season. His dæmon, which remains nameless in both the books and the television series, has settled in the form of a serpent.

3  Farder Coram

Though the novel is rather vague about the particulars of Coram’s appearance, it is suggested that he is a rather frail old man, one of the chief advisers to the Gyptian King, John Faa. He is portrayed as being significantly healthier in the television series. His dæmon is described much more substantively in the novels, where she is described as a very large cat with very beautiful golden-brown fur. Her name is Sophonax.

2  Iorek Byrnison

Iorek is one of the most iconic characters to appear in both the novels and in the television series. He is described in the book as a very large, white bear, though in the beginning he has a yellow tinge due to not being able to bathe. He is smaller, however, than the usurper Iofur. Given that he is a bear, he doesn’t have a dæmon in the way that humans do. However, is armor is understood to be the equivalent.

1  Hugh MacPhail

Hugh MacPhail is another of the primary antagonists of the novels, and he is determined to eradicate Dust and the sin that it represents. In the novels, he is described as having gray hair, as well as being quite tall. Due to the fact that he kept to a very sparse diet—in keeping, no doubt, with his religious and spiritual zeal—he frequently appeared very gaunt. His appearance in the TV series reflects this, though he is perhaps not as thin as he appears in the books. His dæmon, who remains nameless in the novels, had settled on the form of a lizard.

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