Munday - Let's talk PB's
1. Who is your character's PB?
Wes Bentley
2. Which came first, the character or the PB?
Wes is canon, so the character came first.
3. Why did you choose this particular PB?
Okay so here's a rather long story. A couple friends I was playing with at the time had three out of the Fab Four, and wanted someone to play Wes. I had NO idea who this guy was, but they kept insisting he was basically just a big kid and would be easy to play, even though I tended towards the darker and broodier characters at the time, and besides he was only going to be needed on occasion to fill out the group. Okay fine, I agreed to give it a shot and they gave me some basic information cause I didn't have the books and he was in the movies for all of about a minute. We didn't really need PB's at the time since it was a chatroom thing, but I wanted to be able to put a face to the name and the aforementioned minute of film time just wasn't doing it for me, so I started hunting around.
For some odd reason, I thought his eyes were blue even though I believe they should be brown in canon. I don't remember if I was told that or if it was something I'd seen somewhere, but I was looking for blue eyes and dark hair. And I looked, and I looked and I looked some more. No one had quite what I was looking for though because I wanted a younger guy, since Wes has a boyish face and someone who had that look of mischief about them. Then one of my friends, I think it was Ana, showed me a picture of Wes Bentley and I was done. I vaguely remembered him from "American Beauty", but it was the eyes and that smile that made him work in my mind. By the time I realized the eyes weren't right, it was too late because I couldn't imagine anyone else playing my version of him.
4. How close is the PB to your character? What are the differences, if any?
I'm biased, so I'm not really the right person to ask. I think that his expressions and face work well for the character, even if the eyes aren't the right color. Body wise he's not all that close, since he would need to be shorter and have broader shoulders, but I wasn't looking for that aspect at the time and I can't change him now.
Being as how I've never met Mr. Bentley in person, I can't really say how close he is personality wise. He's a rather private individual to say the least. However, I've seen a documentary with him as well as a few other things, and he seems to be a bit of a goofball when the mood strikes him, so that aspect is there at least.
5. Have you modified the PB in any way to be more like your character?
Not with Wes. I have modified the eyes and hair on idealized_sue on occasion though.
6. Have you ever changed your character's PB / would you ever? Why, or why not?
No, I've never changed him and I never plan on it as I've already mentioned. Once I have a face that goes with a character, I really can't change it because in my head it's already set. I could try, but I don't think that his voice would come as easily to me if I did. Also, I think there are people that might hurt me if I were to up and change him at this point.
7. Where did you find icons of your PB, or did you make them yourself?
Most of them I have to make myself. Needless to say I have a rather large collection of Bentley's movies, although I tend to stick to a few in particular when making icons because he does a lot of seriously messed up stuff and so I have to pick and choose what works for my character.
8. Is it important to have an appropriate PB for your character? Why or why not?
I think it's important for certain aspects of the PB to be accurate, yes, especially with canon characters. Visualization is important on a lot of levels in order for a character to really work. Look at any movie based on established characters and then look at the casting of those characters. If it's off, then the character generally will not work in the minds of the audience.
Personally I can sometimes lose the ability to see a character at all if suddenly the face doesn't match with what I'm used to, even with original characters. After a while, the face is just ingrained into your mind and it's hard to see anyone else, just with a canon character. That's why I don't like changing my PB's after they've become established.
9. Have you ever been favorably/unfavorably predisposed towards a character because you liked or didn't like the PB choice?
On occasion, yes. Most of the time I don't really care all that much, but once in a while someone has a PB where it either doesn't resemble the person at all (such as recasting an established character), or else I really don't like the actor/actress that was chosen. That being said, I do also tend to be initially drawn towards characters who have PB's that I do like a lot, at least at first. After that it depends on the character.
10. Have you ever had a character who was represented by text icons / no icon only because they were too difficult to find a PB for?
I had a book character that was represented by artwork for a long time because I couldn't find the right person and because altering icons would have been more than a little difficult due to the characters look. I did eventually find a PB, but I ended up not writing for him much and so he was placed on the back burners.
Wes Bentley
2. Which came first, the character or the PB?
Wes is canon, so the character came first.
3. Why did you choose this particular PB?
Okay so here's a rather long story. A couple friends I was playing with at the time had three out of the Fab Four, and wanted someone to play Wes. I had NO idea who this guy was, but they kept insisting he was basically just a big kid and would be easy to play, even though I tended towards the darker and broodier characters at the time, and besides he was only going to be needed on occasion to fill out the group. Okay fine, I agreed to give it a shot and they gave me some basic information cause I didn't have the books and he was in the movies for all of about a minute. We didn't really need PB's at the time since it was a chatroom thing, but I wanted to be able to put a face to the name and the aforementioned minute of film time just wasn't doing it for me, so I started hunting around.
For some odd reason, I thought his eyes were blue even though I believe they should be brown in canon. I don't remember if I was told that or if it was something I'd seen somewhere, but I was looking for blue eyes and dark hair. And I looked, and I looked and I looked some more. No one had quite what I was looking for though because I wanted a younger guy, since Wes has a boyish face and someone who had that look of mischief about them. Then one of my friends, I think it was Ana, showed me a picture of Wes Bentley and I was done. I vaguely remembered him from "American Beauty", but it was the eyes and that smile that made him work in my mind. By the time I realized the eyes weren't right, it was too late because I couldn't imagine anyone else playing my version of him.
4. How close is the PB to your character? What are the differences, if any?
I'm biased, so I'm not really the right person to ask. I think that his expressions and face work well for the character, even if the eyes aren't the right color. Body wise he's not all that close, since he would need to be shorter and have broader shoulders, but I wasn't looking for that aspect at the time and I can't change him now.
Being as how I've never met Mr. Bentley in person, I can't really say how close he is personality wise. He's a rather private individual to say the least. However, I've seen a documentary with him as well as a few other things, and he seems to be a bit of a goofball when the mood strikes him, so that aspect is there at least.
5. Have you modified the PB in any way to be more like your character?
Not with Wes. I have modified the eyes and hair on idealized_sue on occasion though.
6. Have you ever changed your character's PB / would you ever? Why, or why not?
No, I've never changed him and I never plan on it as I've already mentioned. Once I have a face that goes with a character, I really can't change it because in my head it's already set. I could try, but I don't think that his voice would come as easily to me if I did. Also, I think there are people that might hurt me if I were to up and change him at this point.
7. Where did you find icons of your PB, or did you make them yourself?
Most of them I have to make myself. Needless to say I have a rather large collection of Bentley's movies, although I tend to stick to a few in particular when making icons because he does a lot of seriously messed up stuff and so I have to pick and choose what works for my character.
8. Is it important to have an appropriate PB for your character? Why or why not?
I think it's important for certain aspects of the PB to be accurate, yes, especially with canon characters. Visualization is important on a lot of levels in order for a character to really work. Look at any movie based on established characters and then look at the casting of those characters. If it's off, then the character generally will not work in the minds of the audience.
Personally I can sometimes lose the ability to see a character at all if suddenly the face doesn't match with what I'm used to, even with original characters. After a while, the face is just ingrained into your mind and it's hard to see anyone else, just with a canon character. That's why I don't like changing my PB's after they've become established.
9. Have you ever been favorably/unfavorably predisposed towards a character because you liked or didn't like the PB choice?
On occasion, yes. Most of the time I don't really care all that much, but once in a while someone has a PB where it either doesn't resemble the person at all (such as recasting an established character), or else I really don't like the actor/actress that was chosen. That being said, I do also tend to be initially drawn towards characters who have PB's that I do like a lot, at least at first. After that it depends on the character.
10. Have you ever had a character who was represented by text icons / no icon only because they were too difficult to find a PB for?
I had a book character that was represented by artwork for a long time because I couldn't find the right person and because altering icons would have been more than a little difficult due to the characters look. I did eventually find a PB, but I ended up not writing for him much and so he was placed on the back burners.