describing a celebrity's looks without giving a name

[Trauntj]

have any of you ever wanted a certain actor or celebrity (or a character that looked exactly like them) be in your novel but didn't want to give their name outright? is it best to just try and describe the person's face as much as you can and hope they piece together something similar in their mind?

for my novel I want the main guy to look pretty much like actor Hugo Weaving with long hair (like this: http://dic.academic.ru/pictures/enwiki/72/Hugo_w.jpg) but I don't want to say his name outright for obvious reasons. has anyone else had this problem?

Thanks!

[James D. Macdonald]

The obvious reason being that it'll quickly date your novel?

Ian Fleming described James Bond as looking "like Hoagy Carmichael." How many people today could describe Hoagy Carmichael?

Let the description serve your book and your character.

[Salis]

Uh, no. I've always found the (seemingly quite common) practice of basing characters or character's looks off of photographs of celebrities to be oddly fetishist. Just to be clear, I have nothing against it, per se, it's just really strange to me.

I just sort of have composite looks in my head that are very distinct from reality. In fact, I find characters that are supposed to look superrealistic (as in, portrayed on the cover with a photograph of a real person) hard for me to imagine, or I imagine them as very different from whatever photograph they used.

I am probably in the minority.

As for sneaking this in, I suspect the most amenable way to do it would be if your book takes place in a contemporary setting. In that case, you could have someone say, "Hey, you really look like X." This happens all the time in real life. I have been variously compared to Johnny Depp and Harry Potter. In my experience, people saying "Hey, you look like X" are full of shit, but hey, it's a sneaky way to do it as an author.

[katiemac]

You might want to ask yourself if it really matters, for the sake of the story, if the readers don't picture the character the way you do.

[Trauntj]

fair enough, I could always go for the whole "put the whole MC on the cover type deal"

honestly I would use the look-alike dialogue but I don't want it to be in a culturally modernistic setting. as far as making the people super realistic, I'm actually with you on that note. I do like having a personal look for a character though I always enjoy seeing what the author's idea of what the character would look like as well.

[sunday morning]

You could describe the person's most noted features to give the audience the idea you want without spelling out who it is. I've done this & I think it works pretty well. For instance, if you were picturing Angelina Jolie, you could describe your character's full lips and long dark hair.

I've read Hollywood based novels, too, that had characters based on real actors. I figured out who most of them were supposed to be by their descriptions, which pointed out the said actor's most prominent/noted features.

[john barnes on toast]

I am probably in the minority.




well, it's a minority of at least two then.

I don't think physical descriptions are particularly necessary, and can be an obstacle to a reader's immersion into the story just as often as they can be an aid.

The thought of referencing a character directly to 'celeb' seems odd and lazy. No offense to the thread starter, but I find this fixation on celebrity depressing and annoying in equal amounts. By and large these people aren't particularly impressive in their given field of expertise (acting, miming to pop songs, adopting brown babies, etc.) so having them migrate into other areas is cultural pollution as far as I'm concerned.

Leave Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt in crap movies, where I can easily avoid them. I don't want them in my books.


rant over.

[Phaeal]

I think it would be hard to describe Hugo Weaving so well that I would know for sure you were talking about Hugo Weaving. G'head. Try it.

For most celebrities these days, I'd say no problem. They look pretty much alike anyway. Weaving is one of the glorious exceptions.

[maestrowork]

Describe your character the way you would with any character -- if the descriptions are relevant.

It really is not a big deal if your readers understand: oh my gosh, he looks just like Hugo Weaving. It may be important to you, but trust me, your readers will have some other ideas. And many probably don't even know who Hugo Weaving is.

[Libbie]

Just create a doppleganger for your story. They could look entirely different but in your brain they're really a golem constructed of words and fantasies, with part of your celebrity of choice's soul trapped inside their candy-coated shell.

[roonil_wazlib]

Like maestrowork said, describe the traits of the character that are important. Unless it's essential to your plot, I wouldn't bother mentioning that he looks like Hugo Weaving. You know what your character looks like, but your readers may see someone who looks completely different and that's okay. That's the beauty of writing/reading - hundreds of people will read it, but very few people will see the same person in their head (this has been an ongoing debate among fans of Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series - one person's Jamie looks nothing like another person's Jamie and all suggestions have been nixed by Diana Herself).

My own characters are based on actors, but all the reader knows is that they're scruffy/dirty/pale/tanned/etc. If they want to put Brad Pitt in as the character while they read, that's fine with me - they're the ones who paid for it :D

[Wark]

Let the reader decide. Even if you try to get Hugo's looks down, you just can't.

My MC in my WIP is described as not unattractive or featureless, but not standing out in any way. Brown hair is mentioned. My two females are only described by the haircuts they have initially and their clothes when it is important.

Though it's fun to have a short, fat man with a handlebar mustache show up too.

[scarletpeaches]

YOU can know what the character looks like but the reader doesn't have to.

Me? I model my characters' looks on real people but hardly ever make mention of their physical appearance. It doesn't matter what they look like. What they DO is important.

If I can picture them it makes it easier to write. Would picturing my characters make them easier to READ? Probably. But everyone has a different idea of what's attractive, so I leave it to the reader to make up their own mind.

[Kris]

The obvious reason being that it'll quickly date your novel?

Ian Fleming described James Bond as looking "like Hoagy Carmichael." How many people today could describe Hoagy Carmichael?

Let the description serve your book and your character.

So funny! I came across that recently (Casino Royale, I think?) It made me laugh so hard.

[Kris]

As for sneaking this in, I suspect the most amenable way to do it would be if your book takes place in a contemporary setting. In that case, you could have someone say, "Hey, you really look like X." This happens all the time in real life. I have been variously compared to Johnny Depp and Harry Potter. In my experience, people saying "Hey, you look like X" are full of shit, but hey, it's a sneaky way to do it as an author.

This is exactly how Ian Fleming does it in the book that Jim MacDonald mentioned above. He has a sexy girl meet James Bond and comment to her friend (in her sexy French accent, if I recall correctly) that he looks like Hoagy Carmichael. It really took me out of the book for a second. But it didn't spoil it for me, or anything.

[Kristiina]

If I can picture them it makes it easier to write. Would picturing my characters make them easier to READ? Probably. But everyone has a different idea of what's attractive, so I leave it to the reader to make up their own mind.

Heh. Visit the imdb page for the upcoming 'John Carter of Mars' film and check the threads were fans argue about how Dejah Thoris, the heroine, who is described as 'The most beautiful woman of two worlds' in the book the movie will be based on should look like. The fun part is that Edgar Rice Burroughs actually does give a fairly long description of her looks (the book is written from the pow of the hero, John Carter, and 'he' spends several words on her when he first sees her) and a lot of the ideas from the male fans don't actually sound all that much like the description (mostly it has to do with her figure; a lot of them seem to picture a very full figured woman indstead of somebody 'girlishly slim' like in the book).

Well, part of the blame goes for the illustrators, most pictures of her show somebody with very large breasts and a big behind. I guess they too were overwhelmed by that 'most beautiful' part and draw what they would have wanted to see, instead of what the writer described.

[scarletpeaches]

Even then saying someone is 'the most...' is dangerous, because as you say, everyone has different ideas of what constitutes such superlatives.

There's no need to describe someone's looks - even less to say they're the most this, the fastest that, the biggest this, the smallest that.

Other characters' reactions. That's the key.

I mean, I think Angelina Jolie is the most beautiful woman in the world and I'd sell my soul for one night with her but apparently some nutjobs disagree. Go figure.

[ccarver30]

I ONLY use celebrities for my characters looks but you have to know how to describe without a name.

My avatar is actor Henry Cavill... also my male MC for The Duchess' Ring. ;)

[Kristiina]

Even then saying someone is 'the most...' is dangerous, because as you say, everyone has different ideas of what constitutes such superlatives.

There's no need to describe someone's looks - even less to say they're the most this, the fastest that, the biggest this, the smallest that.

Other characters' reactions. That's the key.

I mean, I think Angelina Jolie is the most beautiful woman in the world and I'd sell my soul for one night with her but apparently some nutjobs disagree. Go figure.

Well, in defense of Mr Burroughs, the tale is told in the first person, and the teller is head over heels in love with the incomparable lady, so of course she is the most beautiful woman ever. But it is also rather illustrative of how much good even a detailed description will do, as you said, especially after you tell that your character is say, beautiful. About the only parts that seem to stick in the readers minds are hair colors, and possibly skin and eye colors, if mentioned (the red humanoid martians are sorta copper colored).

Well, 'The Princess of Mars' was also his first story. And it was written about a hundred years ago.

[maestrowork]

That's the problem with the "most" anything though, especially "beautiful" since beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Avoid these empty adjectives. I mean, I remember going to the movie Troy expecting to meet the world's most beautiful woman who launched a thousand battle ships, and I got Diane Kruger. Don't get me wrong, she's cute, but the most beautiful woman who had 100,000 men die for her? Don't think so. That's the problem with these claims in fiction: what exactly is the most beautiful? The fairest princess? The mightiest hero? They're all vague and subjective.

[maestrowork]

That said, in my WIP, I have one CHARACTER describe another as more beautiful than Vivien Leigh in Gone with The Wind.

It's time appropriate (the story happens in 1941). And even if the readers never saw or heard of Vivien Leigh before (who was regarded as one of the world's most beautiful women at the time, much like Angelina Jolie is today), they must have heard of Gone with The Wind. And that sets up a cultural reference. If you know who Vivien Leigh is, then you can get a mental image. If not, you can substitute it with any classic beauty in your mind. Either way, the most important thing is:

The CHARACTER thinks that way. That says more about that character than the woman.

[blacbird]

This is exactly how Ian Fleming does it in the book that Jim MacDonald mentioned above. He has a sexy girl meet James Bond and comment to her friend (in her sexy French accent, if I recall correctly) that he looks like Hoagy Carmichael.

But he doesn't. He looks like Sean Connery. No, wait, he looks like Sean Connery used to look. No, wait, he looks like Roger Moore. No, wait, he looks like Timothy Dalton. No, wait, he looks like Pierce Brosnan. No, wait, he looks like Daniel Craig. No, wait . . .

caw

[maestrowork]

Hoagy

I'm hungry.

[Devil Ledbetter]

for my novel I want the main guy to look pretty much like actor Hugo Weaving with long hair (like this: http://dic.academic.ru/pictures/enwiki/72/Hugo_w.jpg) but I don't want to say his name outright for obvious reasons. has anyone else had this problem?
Thanks!How about "balding, with the lips of a trout"?

[scheherazade]

Dude, I have no idea who Hugo Weaving is. As a reader, it would be much more effective for me if you just describe what it is about Weaving that your character has in common. Long wavy hair? Okay. Does he look like a beach bum? Like a biker? Like a rocker? Like a spirtiual person? What does that appearance say about him?

If I adored Hugo Weaving and saw the similarity, maybe that's what I would envision in my head. But maybe I was a total long-haired Orlando Bloom fan instead, and I'd much rather make that comparison when I visualized your character. Best to leave the option up to the reader. Just tell them what they need to know about what the apperance says about the character in terms of age, personality, social status, etc.

[blacbird]

Dude, I have no idea who Hugo Weaving is.

Which expresses precisely why you don't want to do this. A deeper question is, Why is it important for the READER to know what the character looks like?

It really doesn't matter what you, the writer, think the character should look like, unless it impacts the story in some significant way. If not, it's as relevant as asking What font should I write in?

caw

[Trauntj]

thanks for the comments! very true, many people will not know who he is, hell most of america wouldn't know probably if he didn't play agent smith. so I'll just create a su btle description, and let the reader come up with an image themselves.

[RJK]

I was recently at a book signing for Michael Connelly. someone in the audience asked, since he never describes his Harry Bosch character, how does he picture him. Michael answered, "You're looking at him."

[Kurtz]

My protagonist looks like Hugh Jackman rolling around in a barrel.

Dan Brown describes whoever Tom Hanks plays in the films as looking like Harrison Ford. It's hilarious that the nearest to Harrison Ford they could get was Tom Hanks.

[smcc360]

Give just enough description so that your readers can cast an actor they like.

[john barnes on toast]

My protagonist looks like Hugh Jackman rolling around in a barrel.

Dan Brown describes whoever Tom Hanks plays in the films as looking like Harrison Ford.


Does it actually say that in the book?

[Kurtz]

Does it actually say that in the book?

It's in the Da Vinci Code, pretty early on if I remember correctly.

[mscelina]

Interesting. We were just discussing this a couple of days ago in the Emporium.

I avoid trying to 'cast' my characters or base them off of real-life characters. Main reason? The Anne Rice/Tom Cruise debacle. I mean--if I created a character that looked like Gerard Butler in my imagination (hubba) and then some idiot producer cast Andrew Dice Clay in the role, I'd be pretty mad. It would ruin the whole thing for me--just as it did early on with Anne Rice. The fit she threw over Cruise's casting as Lestat--and the patently insincere mea culpa she issued later was enough to teach me better.

[john barnes on toast]

It's in the Da Vinci Code, pretty early on if I remember correctly.


I'd heard he was shit writer. I didn't realise he was that shit.

[katiemac]

Does it actually say that in the book?

Actually, it's "Harrison Ford in tweed" and no, it has zero impact on book's plot.

[mkcbunny]

It may be a little late to comment, but I did run into this question when first introducing a character.

I agree with Uncle Jim about celebrity mentions dating the work. Also, what you see in Hugo Weaving might not be the same thing your reader does. Perhaps you see Hugo as dashing and handsome, but your reader sees Hugo as creepy and weird.

While writing the first draft of my novel, I added a character who is sexually magnetic. This is relevant to his role in the story. He is based on a friend of mine who bears a resemblance to Johnny Depp, only more chiseled and masculine. My first run at describing the character included a celebrity reference, but then I realized that (a) some readers might not find Johnny Depp attractive, (b) JD is a loaded, quirky personality, which might bring unwanted attributes to the character, (c) ten years from now, JD may be a dated reference. I wound up describing his strong and unique features and the way other people react to him. Now it doesn't matter who he resembles; within the context of the story, it's clear that his looks draw attention.

One thing you might ask yourself is why do you want your character to look like [inset celebrity name, in your case Hugo]? Is it because the person's traits convey something useful to the reader, such as age, grooming, or social status? If they don't convey anything useful, why make them look like someone specific at all?

[GD Marks]

Last night I was rereading Haunted by Palahniuk, and Nicolas Cage got referenced, and it made me think of this thread.

(It's a very funny section, so if you're over 18 and enter a bookstore anytime soon, look it up in the story by 'The Missing Link' about 60% in.)

And since I'm posting, I'll also mention that Easton-Ellis's Glamorama is full of celebrities and well-known, unhidden, undisguised people - Christian Bale features very heavily (who played Patrick Bateman in the film of Easton-Ellis's other book American Psycho).

Thanks,
gdm.

[katiemac]

It may be a little late to comment, but I did run into this question when first introducing a character.

I agree with Uncle Jim about celebrity mentions dating the work. Also, what you see in Hugo Weaving might not be the same thing your reader does. Perhaps you see Hugo as dashing and handsome, but your reader sees Hugo as creepy and weird.

While writing the first draft of my novel, I added a character who is sexually magnetic. This is relevant to his role in the story. He is based on a friend of mine who bears a resemblance to Johnny Depp, only more chiseled and masculine. My first run at describing the character included a celebrity reference, but then I realized that (a) some readers might not find Johnny Depp attractive, (b) JD is a loaded, quirky personality, which might bring unwanted attributes to the character, (c) ten years from now, JD may be a dated reference. I wound up describing his strong and unique features and the way other people react to him. Now it doesn't matter who he resembles; within the context of the story, it's clear that his looks draw attention.

One thing you might ask yourself is why do you want your character to look like [inset celebrity name, in your case Hugo]? Is it because the person's traits convey something useful to the reader, such as age, grooming, or social status? If they don't convey anything useful, why make them look like someone specific at all?

QFT. I was coming back to this thread to say all these things, but you beat me to it. Thanks for saving me the carpel tunnel!

[ideagirl]

Which expresses precisely why you don't want to do this. A deeper question is, Why is it important for the READER to know what the character looks like?

It really doesn't matter what you, the writer, think the character should look like, unless it impacts the story in some significant way. If not, it's as relevant as asking What font should I write in?


I agree that comparing a character to any celebrity who is not already a time-tested icon a la Marilyn Monroe is generally a bad idea for the reasons everyone's already said--many people won't know what that celebrity looks like, it'll date your book, etc. If your character looks like Hugo Weaving, Lenny Kravitz, Drew Barrymore or whoever, just describe Weaving/Kravitz/Barrymore, and voila, you have described your character. Just using their name won't work nearly as well, for the reasons mentioned above.

But I disagree if you're saying that a character's appearance is unimportant. We probably all agree that it's important to be specific--to say "a pink dahlia" (or whatever color and species) instead of "a flower," to say your character has an "English bulldog" or "a mutt with a terrier's head and a dachshund's body" instead of just "a dog," to say she's listening to Vivaldi or bluegrass rather than just to music, and so on. Specific detail is important because it is what makes the "vivid and continuous dream" of fiction come to life: it's what enables your reader to see, hear, sense etc. the world you're unfolding.

So how is it possible for a character's appearance not to matter, given that it is precisely that type of sensual detail that brings your world to life for the reader? If you want your reader to "see" your world, you have to give them at least some clues as to what it--and its inhabitants--look like. A character's looks or physique can also help illustrate or explain other character's reactions--if your character's a 6'8" burly young man, a woman walking by herself after dark is going to react differently to him than if he were skinny and 5'5". They can also help convey a lot about the character--how she feels about herself, how she carries herself, why she reacts a certain way (e.g., very pretty women who are constantly being hit on react differently when men start talking to them than women who are not constantly hit on, etc.). It's particularly revealing of character when their looks don't match what people are biased to expect. How can you create such a contrast without saying what he or she looks like?

I don't think you need to get to the point where you're describing the exact shape of your character's nostrils :D, but describing how your character looks is part of the basic act of world-creation that we're all engaging in here.

[ideagirl]

Also, what you see in Hugo Weaving might not be the same thing your reader does. Perhaps you see Hugo as dashing and handsome, but your reader sees Hugo as creepy and weird.

Yeah, exactly. That's a great point. Weaving's previous role as the Matrix bad guy was completely distracting to me during Lord of the Rings--I kept expecting the king of the elves to put on black shades and say "Hellooo, Neoooo!" I just happen to have gotten Weaving's Matrix role stuck in my head, so any reference to Weaving instantly brings up that character. The same thing would happen if I were reading a book with him in it. That's the risk you run when you compare your characters to celebrities.


While writing the first draft of my novel, I added a character who is sexually magnetic. This is relevant to his role in the story. He is based on a friend of mine who bears a resemblance to Johnny Depp, only more chiseled and masculine. My first run at describing the character included a celebrity reference, but then I realized that (a) some readers might not find Johnny Depp attractive, (b) JD is a loaded, quirky personality, which might bring unwanted attributes to the character, (c) ten years from now, JD may be a dated reference. I wound up describing his strong and unique features and the way other people react to him. Now it doesn't matter who he resembles; within the context of the story, it's clear that his looks draw attention.

That's a great approach. The celebrity resemblance is your mnemonic, as a writer--maybe it helps you picture your character--but it's just a tool for you, not something for the reader.

[Ruth2]

When I describe the character I go with as little description as possible, even if I have someone in mind. I usually ignore an author's descriptions of his/her/their characters in favor of whomever comes to mind when I read the story, and I figure other readers will do the same to my characters as well.

[Trauntj]

to bump this up from like months ago, I know it would date my book if I went out and deliberately said his name (which would be weird, since in my world he doesn't exist) I decided to just describe his unique features and leave it that. I've finally got around to writing the first draft and I'm having trouble deciding what type of beginning I want.

[Augustine]

I wouldn't come right out and say that the character looks like someone famous unless it's something timeless like Napolean. I try and keep description to a few lines and let the reader fill in the blanks. I think most readers envision who they want to envision when they're reading.

[bearilou]

Which expresses precisely why you don't want to do this. A deeper question is, Why is it important for the READER to know what the character looks like?

It really doesn't matter what you, the writer, think the character should look like, unless it impacts the story in some significant way. If not, it's as relevant as asking What font should I write in?

caw

But blacbird, what font <i>should</i> I write in? :tongue

On topic, I have to agree with everyone here. I have pictures of what my characters look like. I keep a file while I'm writing so I can get distracted by the lovely people refer to them every so often so the physical descriptors stay consistent, but otherwise, I'll leave it to the reader to fill in who my characters remind them of. Trying to draw more concrete parallels than that is not going to go over as well as one would probably like.

[job]

I could always go for the whole "put the whole MC on the cover type deal".

You mean . . . have the cover show what the MC looks like?

You're self-publishing?
No?

You think the art department is going to make the MC look anything remotely like the character you describe in the story?
<pause while jo rolls on the floor in helpless laughter>


Part of a reader's fun is creating the character in her mind. Give a general idea of the physicality of the MC and leave the reader to imagine the rest,
is my advice.

<jo is still doubled over in helpless chuckles at the thought of the publisher getting the hair color right on the cover, let alone the facial details>

As to short-cutting this with some 2009 actor ...

It does date the book.
It also leaves you vulnerable to the particular actor getting caught in bed with a thirteen-year-old girl, (or boy,) in May 2010. Or him joining a cult. Or dying horribly.

And an amazing number of people have never heard of Hugo Weaving.
I haven't.

[Quossum]

I used to be terrible about this, having a character mention that another character "looks so much like [insert name of famous person]," but looking back on those works much later I realized how contrived and dated it seemed.

Now I do have an image in my mind of how my characters look--it helps me play the movie in my head of the scenes in the story. And I do describe characters to an extent, as ideagirl mentions, just to give an idea to the reader as they cast the movie themselves. But nowadays I don't go into name-dropping or great and excessive detail. Give the reader some basics, and let their imaginations go to town on the rest.

--Q

[RJK]

In my mind, my main character is a younger version of Gary Sinise, but I don't describe him at all in my stories.

His partner is a Chamorro giant from Guam. I worked with several Chamorro men (and women) when doing disaster assistance work in Guam and Saipan. I model 'Orca' after one of those men. He speaks in a loud whisper (sort of like Brando in the Godfather only not as sinister), and, although weighing in at over 350 pounds, moves like a defensive end, just like the guy in Guam.

[ejaycee]

To be honest, I prefer him when he's wearing a Guy Fawkes mask. ;) *sigh*
But seriously. Your readers don't need to know. They can picture him however they want- it's part of the joys of reading. And then you get the joys of bitching about the bad casting in the movie, cuz the actor looks nothing like you pictured him. ^_~

[Trauntj]

Thanks again everyone. you really helped me!

I'm still going to picture in my mind my MC as how Weaving looked as Elrond in the lotr trilogy, but I'll just use subtle details so the reader can make his/her own portrait as the story progresses. ;)

[Trauntj]

You mean . . . have the cover show what the MC looks like?...And an amazing number of people have never heard of Hugo Weaving.
I haven't.

yes I know now how bad that would turn out to be, in this case less is more. :)

[Maxinquaye]

Hmmmm, I tend to have an image of how my characters look like. Not a very detailed one, i admit, but if my MC meets someone then he is going to react to the character's appearance. If he meets a slob, he will be bothered. If he meets someone he wants to shag, he'll be ... er... more keen.

But I only know that my MC has long black hair in a pony tail, he's built like a runner and not like a rugby-player, and he's not revolting.