Pixiecc wrote in another thread:

Sorry ... I seem to have noob syndrome and keep posting topics that already have threads.

That is HILARIOUS! I am going to picture this now when I read... Someone needs to make a picture with Michael Flatley and Rob's head.

Aside from my mental picture of Edward as Michael Flatley in 'NM' the actors chosen for the movie match up to the ones created from my imagination. Maybe Bella was a bit more softer looking in my mind and for some reason Jasper looks younger on screen than he does in my head.

I read the books after the movie was cast, but I really didn't research the film until after I had read the first three books. I was only familiar with Robert and Kristen, because I am a subscriber to Entertainment Weekly and saw the 'Twilight' cover they did in July. Either way my Edward would have still been tall and lanky like Robert and not terribly ripped like Stephenie describes him to be. That's just the way I like my men to look.

While watching the HBO miniseries Generation Kill I kept looking at the guy that played the character of Sgt. Brad "Iceman" Colbert thinking he seemed really mature for someone portraying a Marine who was most likely in his early-mid twenties. And then it hit me one day..."that's my Jasper!" The image in my mind of Jasper almost perfectly matches Alexander Skarsgard. He's naturally blonde, pretty tone, and is 6' 3" just like Jasper. Here's a picture of him, I "cullenized" the eyes for more effect...


And on another note, the actor portraying Phil is WAY hotter than I pictured in the books!!! The actor is Matt Bushnell...wow...

To me Kristen Stewart doesn't look how I imagined Bella.
In my head Bella looked.......well, like me

When I started reading in August, I read about half of Twilight before I asked my sisters at one of the rest stops on the way to Lake Powell, "Hey, who is playing the characters in the movie?" I knew I had seen the trailer already but didnt' remember anyone in it. I had imagined Johnathan Reese Meyers as Edward (from The Tudors, Bend it Like Beckham and a few more projects). But Kristin is pretty much spot on as who I'd imagine and Peter Fracinelli had seemed an unlikely Carlisle as well as Esme's character but they all fit now! Everyone else when I was finally at a computer after finishing the books I'd never seen in anything else before except for maybe Charlie. Now I happily picture Cathering recreating these books to film, trying to figure out how they'll do this or that scene on screen. Its fun!

For me, KS is pretty much exactly how I imagined Bella, so even though I imagine KS now, it's not that different from what was in my mind. I guess it's still sort of a hybrid, though. Edward is very close to RP in my mind, and I definitely imagine *some* RP in him now when I read, but he's still closer to my original vision. Which, seriously, isn't that far off from RP anyway. Rosalie is spot on, so I imagine NR. Jasper I 100% imagine as JR, which is weird, because I am totally unfamiliar with him. Alice is 100% AG (who wasn't far off from what I imagined anyway), Carlisle is 100% PF (again, close to what I imagined). Esme is a hybrid between what I imagined (Lillian Gish-ish) and ER, and for some reason Emmett is 100% what I originally envisioned. KL isn't horribly far off what I envisioned, and I can't really explain what exactly I imagined, but it is really stuck in there. Oh, and Charlie is still more what I envisioned, although again, BB isn't far off. Oh, and JAKE!!! For young Jake it's definitely TL, but for older Jake it's all my original vision. Same with Sam and the rest of the pack. And, for some bizarre reason, I cannot picture Leah as a Native American... it's all because a friend of mine went to college with a Leah, who was petite with a blond curly bob, and I really have to force myself to imagine Leah correctly. LOL!

It's hard to remember how I first imagined them.. because after seeing the stars of the movie.. that's how I picture them when I'm reading the books.
But I will say Bella, Edward and Jacob are pretty much what I had pictured.. specifically Rob.

You know bama_belle, I think that alot of us picture ourselves as Bella. She reminds me very much of myself at that age....well, minus Edward which is a bummer.

to me rob is very close to what i pictured Edward.
my jacob would have been someone older than taylor. i pictured him more like Michael Copon. you can check him out at this link.

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0178757/

I think this is a real downside of great books being made into movies- it seems inevitable that images from the film will replace those in our imaginations, which to me is a shame.
The looks of some of the actors work for me (RP particularly!), but others are way off. I know that eventually I won't be able to help seeing the actors when I read the books, as this has already happened with the Harry Potter characters. Sometimes it's really surprising to read how JK Rowling's descriptions of the characters differ so wildly from the versions we are all so used to now!
Oh and someone already said that they picture Leah as blonde- for some reason I can't get the idea that Leah and Seth are both blond out of my head!

I agree about Jacob looking too young and have you seen the promo picture they released of Taylor as Jacob. The hair looks ... ugh. It just doesn't look right.

When I first read Twilight Robert Pattinson was exactly who I pictured as Edward. I was glad that he was cast in that part. I sort of picture Charlie as my dad since they are similar in character. When I read the books I do have a hard time picturing Kristen as Bella. I do think she will make a good Bella but its hard to picture her doing some of the scenes written in later books. Maybe is just me. I like Kellan as Emmet. I did picture Alice as being smaller in size (height) than the girl that is playing her.