Years Later, Harry Potter Fans Still Frustrated Over That One Miscast Role
Whenever it comes to movie or TV adaptations of novels, it's incredibly hard to cast the characters in a way that wouldn't trigger die-hard fans — the Harry Potter franchise was no exception.
Miscasting is one of the ever-discussed topics in the Harry Potter community, and fans are constantly arguing about if actor X was good for character Y.
Even after all these years, when this issue arises, people battle in the comments — some are condemning the Marauders' looking older than in the books, and some are defending it…
On many characters, fans can't agree. But some of them are so severely miscast that you can't argue on that even if you really wanted to.
Victor Krum is one such example.
In the books, the quidditch prodigy is described as looking pretty much like a young Severus Snape with the addition of exceptional eyebrows.
He's a lanky guy with dark long greasy hair, thick dark eyebrows, and a hooked nose. Krum is not looking like an athlete since he's a Chaser, and he's by no means attractive.
When it comes to his character, he's rather secluded and taciturn but turns out to be a great friendly guy once you get to know him. He's never shown as a physical threat, too — at least down on the earth.
Movie Krum is a completely different story. He's literally a pumped athlete with a buzz cut and an intimidating gaze.
He's the epitome of brute force and physical threat, giving off harsh vibes wherever he goes — and apart from that, the actor's appearance doesn't match the book description in the slightest.
While Stan Yanevski looks and behaves (on-screen, at least) nothing like the book Krum, it's by no means his fault.
As an actor, he beautifully performed the role that was given to him by Mike Newell — the movie's director who'd never read the original source before filming.
Amongst all the HP movie directors, he's the fan's absolute least favorite. If you don't realize just how ignorant Newell was regarding the source material, let this sink in.
There's a film-only character in the same chapter, Karkaroff's assistant, who looked exactly like the book Krum, and his actor actually auditioned to play Krum.
Guess what he was told? "You don't fit the character description." Oh, the irony...