Game of Thrones' Characters Age in the Books Will Change How You See The Show Completely

You almost can't imagine anyone other than Emilia Clarke playing the infamous Daenerys or Kit Harington as the heroic Jon Snow.

And yet many of the show's fans are now stunned, after finding out for the first time how old some of their favorite characters are meant to be in the books.

Of course when it came to adapting the novels for a true-to-form violent and adult television series, having a junior cast was out of the question.

Therefore the characters were appropriately aged to make certain aspects of the series less creepy and more appropriate to appear on the screen.

Arya Stark

Arya is first introduced as one of the youngest Stark children of Winterfell and very different to her older sister Sansa. Within the series, she is meant to be only 11 years of age at the beginning of the show.

However, she is actually 9 years old according to the books. Although this is not a significant age difference, by the end of the series she has grown up to reach 18.

Being only 9 at the beginning of the novels shows she has faced so much of her character's hardship at an alarmingly young age.

Brandon and Rickon Stark

If you thought 9 was a young age, then you may be even more surprised at Arya's younger brothers. Bran, who possibly sees some of the biggest evolution of his character over the series, is only 7 at the beginning of the books.

Suddenly him being pushed out of a window so young seems even more extreme. And yet his brother Rickon is even younger, only written as a 2-year-old in the books.

Which is a massive 4-year gap between the 6-year-old he was portrayed as on the show.

Daenerys Targaryen

If you thought Daenerys was tough beforehand, imagine that she is actually only 13 years old at the start of the series. Of course, the show made her appear older as 16, considering the sexualised nature of her character's narrative at the very beginning.

Viserys (who is 21) even discusses if Drogo wants a woman as young as his sister, considering he is meant to be 31 according to the books.

Daenerys, like many of the other key characters of the show, achieves a lot at such a young age. And by the end of the 8th season, she is supposedly 23 years old.

Jon Snow and Robb Stark

It's not too surprising that these two characters were close when we first meet them at Winterfell. Although Jon was thought to be a bastard, they were raised as brothers and are actually the same age.

However, both are not quite as old as made out to be on the show. Like other heroes of the series, both are portrayed as 16 years old (clearly the actors were much older).

In the novels, they were meant to be only 14. Historically this is quite accurate, the pressures of duty and manhood would have been enforced at younger ages. Which is probably why Martin wrote them so young in the books.

Their adeptness in battle as teenage characters highlights the skills they were meant to have learned from Ned Stark himself.

Sansa Stark and Joffrey Baratheon

The last of the Stark children is of course Queen of the North herself, Sansa Stark. By the end, a strategic and noble leader in her own right.

However, she began as a young arguably naive girl in the series, obsessed with her betrothed-to-be husband Joffrey Baratheon. Joffrey may have been an evil, vindictive piece of work, but at least both Sansa and him were of similar ages.

In the show, Joffrey is supposed to be slightly older at 16, and Sansa is only 13. Alternatively, the books depict them both as only 11 years old.

Considering the brutality he inflicts when he becomes King, he is one malicious child. By the end of the 8th season, Sansa is meant to be 20 years old.

Theon Greyjoy

One of the most hated characters of the series, his consistent betrayal of his family has him often depicted as a coward. Interestingly age is no excuse for Theon's bad decision-making. His age precisely at the beginning of the book is uncertain.

But he is thought to be either 18 or 19 years old. He is the only known character that was aged down for his appearance on the show.

Whether this was because of the actual age of the actor, or wanting to share a closer association with the Stark brothers Robb and Jon, he is meant to be also 16. By the end of the series, he is almost in his mid 20's.

Tyrion Lannister

Alternatively, one of the biggest fan favorites of the show was Tyrion for his quick wit, and fans felt sympathetic for his many unfortunate circumstances.

So how old was the man notorious for 'drinking and knowing things' meant to be? Apparently 32 years old, which may sound reasonable for the series' character portrayed by Peter Dinklage (who was actually about 42 when he first played the part).

Yet the novel's Tyrion is actually almost 10 years younger at 24. That is quite a lot of wisdom and wine from someone only in their 20s.

Cersei and Jaime Lannister

The formidable, but controversial, brother-sister lovers were of course twins. Being of the same age surely strengthened their bond, but they were closer than many expected them to be.

Which tragically never went well for them. Older than their brother Tyrion they appear in the show as 36, yet both were described in the books as 31.

Not a large difference between the two, which was likely done to keep their age as older than Tyrion's without seeming drastically different.

Ned Stark and Catelyn Stark

Lastly Ned and his beloved wife Catelyn Stark, head of the Stark family. Having parented four (legitimate) children at the start of the series, they appear as older than many of the other prominent characters on this list.

There is only one year difference between the couple, which in the show is depicted as Ned 41 and Catelyn 40. In the books they are significantly younger however, with Ned being 34 and Catelyn 33; a whole 7 years difference.

This was probably due to George R. R. Martin demonstrating the younger ages of pregnancy that would have been more common in the past.

But combined with the older ages of Sean Bean and Michelle Fairley, and the Stark children who had been aged up also, it only made sense to present Ned and Catelyn as older than in the books.