AI Reveals What House Of The Dragon Characters Should Look Like According To The Book

"House of the Dragon" is a fantasy series based on the George R. R. Martin book "Fire and Blood," and as with any live-action adaptation, the series takes some liberties with the way the characters look. Now, YouTube user Surak Kukkipady has created an AI video that shows how some of the show's major players appear in the source material. 

Olivia Cooke's Alicent Hightower, Fabien Frankel's Ser Criston Cole, and Matt Smith's Daemon Targaryen are reasonably close to their book-inspired AI counterparts. So is Emma D'Arcy's Rhaenyra Targaryen, though the AI version has slightly wider features. On the other hand, Eve Best's Rhaenys Targaryen opts for the kind of complex, light blonde Targaryen hairstyle fans have been familiar since Daenerys (Emilia Clarke) introduced it on "Game of Thrones." Meanwhile, the character's AI-created version has striking purple eyes and a much shorter dark hair. Similarly, John MacMillan's Ser Laenor Velaryon and Sonoya Mizuno's Mysaria have a pale complexion and light hair in the book, and their eyes are a different color — Laenor's are purple, and Mysaria's blue. 

Paddy Considine's Viserys Targaryen is perhaps the most different from his AI-created book counterpart. The actor's Viserys has brown eyes, a stubbly beard, a permanently concerned expression, and the traditional blond half ponytail of the live-action Targaryen men. Meanwhile, his AI counterpart is a full-faced, mischievous-looking blond man with short hair and a creepy mustache. 

George R. R. Martin is a fantasy writer, and as such, many of his characters look fantastical. Sometimes, their look in the books is simply unfeasible for live-action adaptation; the majority of the "Game of Thrones" cast should really look pretty different. Similar to "House of the Dragon," many of the changes are about hairstyles and eye color, but some of the characters' descriptions in the "Song of Ice and Fire" novels are extremely different from the "Game of Thrones" characters fans know. 

Gwendoline Christie's Brienne of Tarth and Iain Glen's Ser Jorah Mormont are far more attractive than the book versions, while the novels' Daario Naharis (Ed Skrein and Michiel Huisman) rocks a strange blue hair and beard combo with a gold-painted mustache. Pilou Asbæk's Euron Greyjoy lacks the character's signature eyepatch and dark hair, and the facial injuries of both Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage) and the Hound (Rory McCann) are significantly downplayed on the show. Meanwhile, the TV version of the imposing Mountain is also quite different from the books, since even the massive Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson is far too small to pass for the source material's hulking brute. As such, Surak Kukkipady's AI video shows that the character design alterations "House of the Dragon" makes are often less drastic than many of the original series' choices.

For more on Martin's "Fire and Blood" and HBO's "House of the Dragon," be sure to check out Looper's articles on explaining the Doom of Valyria and how the great dragon Vhagar dies in the book.