What do all the characters look like? any ideas?

[PhanaticEnder.Reader]

I personally have no idea what they would look like, id like to see other people's thoughts about this

[Darth Petra]

I think Ender would be a cute, brownhaired kid with dark brown eyes and a beard when he grows up.

[LeftiesWillRule]

erm..... i disagree darth petra, he should be a small (cute i guess) black-haired (not wavy, but smooth and manga-ish that goes straight down, like roy mustang's) black eyed with nothing on his face when he grows up

Valentine should be a lanky pretty long brown haired girl with blue eyes and a sweet disposition.

peter should have wavy black hair, piercing black eyes, a tall stature and a thin composition

[SaintDrogo]

I always pictured them something like actors I've seen before. Adult Ender I always pictured as Christian Bale with a beard and longish hair. Young Valentine to me would look like Clea DuVall and Peter would be Hayden Christiensen, circa Life As A House. Novinha I pictured as Paz Vega. Adult Valentine I guess looks kind of like Peri Gilpin in my mind.

[mazer]

I think Ender would be a cute, brownhaired kid with dark brown eyes and a beard when he grows up.

perfect except no beard

[SaintDrogo]

I take back my views on Young Val. She'd look like the girl from Panic Room, Kristin Ste DeGui ( http://i.imdb.com/Photos/Events/1406/Kr ... 98_400.jpg ).
And this is the Christian Bale look I was talking about: http://upload.moldova.org/movie/actors/ ... bale_2.jpg .
Novinha: http://www.unafrasecelebre.com/famosas/ ... z-vega.jpg
Peter: http://images.eonline.com/eol_images/Pr ... 092706.jpg
Real Valentine (I know it'snot a flattering picture, but I think it conveys the Val-ness of her): http://images.usatoday.com/news/health/ ... inside.jpg

[Darth Petra]

Sorry, drogo, but Real Val looked to disney.

[SaintDrogo]

You clearly didn't see her in Panic Room. I don't think I'm allowed to quote some of the lines, but there's definitely some non-disney language going on. That kid's badass.

[Darth Petra]

You clearly didn't see her in Panic Room. I don't think I'm allowed to quote some of the lines, but there's definitely some non-disney language going on. That kid's badass.

I propably wouldn't be aloud to see it. All I said is she LOOKS Disney.

[SaintDrogo]

And maybe that's not her name anyway. Stupid internets making it harder for the readings of me.

Here's a clip of the kid, anyway: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IcFAPscR ... re=related

[EA_Cru_2002]

As kids, hell, I don't have that strong opinion on since kids are kids, they're looks are always changing anyway before they become adults and stop changing and just start growing older. Here's my take on the Wiggins.



Shadow-era Peter: I'd have to agree with the earlier poster who said Hayden Christensen, as seen in the movie Shattered Glass:





Hayden has the right mix of intelligence and ruthlessness to his look. There is also an undercurrent of resentment which would match with Peter. But there's also a capacity for compassion, or at least the potential for compassion that he gains as the Shadow series goes on.




Speaker-era Ender: Someone mentioned Christian Bale. I wouldn't be against it, he'd make a decent Ender, but I think there's a certain air of... distance with him. As if you can get to know him, but you would never be able to truly know him. Cold might be too strong a word but something along those lines. I'd personally go with Jim Cavieziel. Yes, Jesus from Passion of the Christ. Who better to play the Christ figure of the story than him! But it wouldn't be his look from that movie but from another movie he was in called The Thin Red Line.



If you watch that film, that character he plays is a person who is by nature a person full of compassion for his fellow man which is perfect for Ender, the world's greatest empath. There's something in his eyes where you feel like there's a deep connection there. But at the same time, there's also something almost... mystical about him, so that he's not on the same level as mere humans. It's not the same as Christian Bale's aura, which is kinda more aloofness, but more akin to feeling as though you know this dude is a deep guy who you can love and can love you but you'll never be his peer, but he's completely okay with that.



Xenocide-era Valentine: I jump to Xenocide because it isn't until then she really becomes important. So she's gonna be a little bit older so I pick Jodie Foster.



Now while I always felt she was attractive, she's not a drop dead bombshell. Instead her attractiveness came out of her personality and how she just seems to exude sharp intelligence with her look. I always felt Valentine, while pretty, even beautiful, wasn't someone who prided herself on physical attractiveness and instead her beauty came naturally from her grace.[/url]

[EA_Cru_2002]

Here's a couple more that popped up into my head.

Mazer Rackam -



His name is Nathaniel Lees. He was the guy in charge of the Zion army in Matrix 2 & 3. Now when I first read Ender's Game, I originally pictured Rackam as someone like Malcom McDowell, an older gent who has a glean of ferality to him. But then I read he was a New Zealander so that took that out of the picture. But this guy does a pretty good job in his own right of living up to Rackam. He's got that tough as nails, chew you out look to him. He's also got a sort of mentor thing going on too.



Col. Graff -





Edward James Olmos. He's most recently in the tv show Battlestar Galactica. A great, great sci-fi show just to let you guys know in case you haven't checked that show out yet. I know he's not a bit too old to play Graff, unless you want to portray old Graff, like at the end of Shadow of the Giant, but if we could time machine it, I'd pick this guy. I also know in the novels, it's not mentioned that Graff is Hispanic. They might even mention he's something else and I missed it. But if they didn't, then hey, why not. Eddie just has this quiet, brooding intelligence to him where he doesn't speak any more than he has to and he just looks like a dude who is in charge.

[greenbeans16]

this is what i picture the characters as being:

Ender- dark hair, gray eyes, lean, pale-ish

Peter-Very attractive, dark eyes, tall. (tall, dark, and hansome)

Valentine- clear skin, pinkish tinted cheeks, long light brown hair

Bean- tan, black hair, exotic eyes, short/tall

Petra- perfect figure, spunky reddish hair, piercing eyes

[beanpetrapeterlove703]

this is what i think petra looks like. It's a person from a vidio game that really reminds me of her.

http://namine4ever.deviantart.com/art/rikku-35195837

[wigginboy]

Shadow-era Peter: I'd have to agree with the earlier poster who said Hayden Christensen, as seen in the movie Shattered Glass:

Whoa whoa whoa. Do we really want Young Vader to be Peter Wiggin? Aside from that, not way, the guy looks too nerdy. Peter got where he is not because of nerdiness, but because he was a good looking kid. There is no evidence in any of the books to suggest the wearing of glasses although I do realize that picture was just an example. My point stands however, that Peter is a good looking, not nerdy fellow. Not only that but I would imagine tall with a commanding presence. Although still young he is nsomeone who looks like he knows what he is talking about and things that should be way over his head at that age do not come out of his mouth like they would a child's. People listen to him and respect him, therefore his personal image must command such things.

On to Ender. I like what darth petra said right up until the beard part. Why the freakin beard? Why can't he just be a normal middle aged man without a beard? There is no textual precedent to assume the wearing of a beard. I have always seen him as a light haired man, maybe not brown, more dirty blond. Kind of like, well, Brad Pitt. Seriously, he is the only actor I could equivocate with older Ender just based on looks alone. And a beard wouldn't look that good on Pitt. Maybe a goatee or something like that but not a full blown beard.

Val- Younger Val would probably be tall and thin. I have always thought of her with dark hair. Tall, small and simple, yet something in her face betrays her mind. She is not stupid, but she comes off as shy and fragile just to throw you off. A look alike? I honestly don't know. I have lost all faith in today's teen stars. As for older Val, probably still thin although likely gained the few pounds aging lends. Still darker hair, silvering somewhat. A lookalike for her, well whoever suggested Jodie Foster up there was on to something.

Bean- Bean is a tough one. He grows so damn much. I know in the natural aging progression, as we age our looks change. I definitely look nothing like my childhood pictures. But I remember looking like that. Bean grows way too fast during the last three books in that series that it is hard to tell if his facial structure changed that much, although I am sure it had to have just due to the changes in cranial size. I am guessing his face filled out a lot from the battle school years to the end of Giant. In Battle School it is known that he is dark, very small and somewhat thin, (spoiler) after having lived on the streets for years before that. After however, we are only exposed to the changes in his skeleton, as opposed to his face. Still dark no doubt, with black hair. One of the books references that he is part African so he might have coarser hair, bigger lips, high cheekbones. His Greek ancestry might affect his nose, his lips, his eyes. It is hard to tell with Bean.

Petra. I have always seen Petra as darker skinned (Armenian, obviously) with dark hair. The only Armenians I know, which is quite a few as I add it up, have dark skin and dark hair. She is probably average height, maybe a little bit short. Longer hair, though maybe cropped short in Battle School. (status quo) Very assertive, as we know from the books, so safte to say maybe a half-assed permanent scowl, even when she smiles.

Dink- Ive always seen Dink as a tall blond kid with a big mouth. Maybe along with his height a little bit of girth. not fat but muscle and skeleton letting people know he doesn't take crap and he commands respect. At the same time, hes a jokester which lets everyone know he doesn't want respect.

thats about all i have for now, just some thoughts
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[greenbeans16]

this is what i think petra looks like. It's a person from a vidio game that really reminds me of her.

http://namine4ever.deviantart.com/art/rikku-35195837

That's kinda how i see Petra. I actually always thought of her with red hair though; but I've played that game, and i really do like the idea.

I saddens me to find out that that's not how armenians look...

[puppets]

Actually they describe some of the characters in the Ender series.

Bean is mentioned to have black hair and dark mediteranean features.

Petra is mentioned with light brown hair and a flushed face, because her and Bean are compared with the looks of their babies.

Valentine is mentioned to have blonde hair, with gray streaks, in her older years.

As for Ender and Peter, I'd imagine they have light brown hair, seeing as they are of polish descent. Either way they look similar, minus Peter looks more handsome and Ender more innocent.

[petraXthebest]

wow. now i have a way better picture in my head...
thx

[puppets]

I don't know if that was sarcasm or not aha.

I mean they aren't too descriptive.

Card never goes too deep into details with the way they look.

Those are just the only descriptions I could pull out of memory, because I remember thinking, "What? Bean is that dark? Or, no way Petra has Light brown hair, and flushed features, shes Armenian!"

Acourse Armenians are necessarily dark featured, but still, I figured she was more typically Armenian.

[TheRealAchilles]

Everyone here but me seems to think of Ender as having dark brown/black hair. Personally, I see him with wispy blond hair and blue eyes, and a rounded face that shapes out nicely by Speaker For the Dead. And Bean to me looks non-descript- someone you wouldn't remember seeing if you were just passing by.

[Gravity Defier]

Everyone here but me seems to think of Ender as having dark brown/black hair.

That would be because he actually does have dark hair.

I can't find the actual part of the book that says so (but I did find it and post it on Pweb 2.0), but Ender is described as looking a bit like Peter and I remember something about his hair being brought up. I'll look for it tomorrow.

The part about Peter having dark hair is found on pg 10 of my book (paperback):

Ender did not see Peter as the beautiful ten-year-old boy that grown-ups saw, with dark, thick, tousled hair and a face that could have belonged to Alexander the Great.

ETA (because I can't seem to get it all out in one sitting tonight): Valentine is a blonde, I presume, based off a comment made about her children being extremely blonde thanks to her and her husband.


I was actually disappointed when I read that bit. I don't mind blonde people in general, and am often quite attracted to blonde guys, but the idea of any of the Wiggins being blonde offended my sensibilities.

[beanpetrapeterlove703]

Everyone here but me seems to think of Ender as having dark brown/black hair. Personally, I see him with wispy blond hair and blue eyes, and a rounded face that shapes out nicely by Speaker For the Dead. And Bean to me looks non-descript- someone you wouldn't remember seeing if you were just passing by.

Bean is actaully described as being very exotic looking, being part greek and dabbles of other races.

And Ender is described as having brown hair.

[TheRealAchilles]

Bean is actaully described as being very exotic looking, being part greek and dabbles of other races.

I know Bean is described by nationality, but I just can't change the picture of him in my mind, y'know?

[Peterlover14]

You guys are onto something with that Peter guy.Heres kinda what I see;
Ender-dirty blonde with big blue eyes(I'm pretty sure his eyes were described that way somewhere in the series)

Valentine-light brown curly hair and blue eyes

Peter- basically the Christensen guy

Bean-tan skinned dark curly hair and dair eyes

Petra- olive skin and short brown hair

[DustinUMD]

I may not be as well versed in the Ender's Game characters as some of the posters here, but I do have specific Ideas about what the cahracters looked like. Here are a few examples that I went through as I was reading -

Ender - Ender is slight of stature, small boned, but stands erect. He has light brown hair, strong cheek bones, and piercing eyes. He is calculated even in his facial movements. He still has a little bit of 'baby fat' on his cheeks, but looks much older than his few years show. His eyes are hazel colored (not quite blue enough) and somewhat cloudy. He keeps his hands at his sides at first, but begins to use them to discuss formations and tactics. He keeps his hair slightly longer than most in Battle School

Bean - Bean is very small and birdlike. He has sandy blond hair and slight freckles across his nose. His eyes are bright blue, clear, and arrogant. His hair, like Ender's, is slightly longer than most. On a child so small, this mop top sways back and forth as he bounds around. His steps are quick and light and his smile is even quicker. He is quick to laugh, smile, and nod his head eagerly. He stands erect and pays little attention to age and rank. He is quick to befriend people and when he does, he fights for that friendship.

Val - young Val is quiet, tall, and lanky. Her hair is dull brown, but long down her back. She keeps her hands to herself, and keeps her chin down at first. As the first book progresses and she is left on her own, she begins to stand more erect and take charge. Her eyes are dark (not quite brown), but peaceful and caring. Her lips are often pursed, but when she smiles she is all teeth. She has a quiet beauty and a bit of a 'plain Jane' feel to her. Still, she is considered very pretty by elders and peers. As she grows she becomes more feisty and sure of herself. Her hands are often on her hips, she smiles coyly in a half crooked way, and laughs in short arrogant bursts ('HA' - mostly when talking to Peter). She blows wayward hairs from her forehead often and sings her legs as she sits in either high chairs or walls.

Peter - Peter has dark brown hair, cut shorter, with some length on the top. He is the most beautiful of the children, but in his beauty displays a cold, cunning, calculated feel. His eyes are dark brown (almost black) and pierce the soul. He often stares and displays a 'poker face' when judging character (weaknesses and strengths). he is tall (between Ender's shortness and Val's lanky early height). He has strong shoulders and is thin (but with youthful muscularity). You would consider him slight, but unnaturally strong. He is is hard to empathize with and harder to be around for long periods of time. He gives off a chill that makes you think he is always sizing you up.


These are just a few of the many characters in the first book. Each has different 'feels' to me, but these are the ones that come first to mind.

[Syphon the Sun]

I didn't know African-Greeks had sandy blonde hair...

[Peterlover14]

dido

[Gravity Defier]

dido

She's British, actually, not African-Greek. But she is blondish.

[Peterlover14]

Were talking about Bean. I said "dido" to what Syphon the Sun said about African-greeks having sandy blonde hair. The thing is, they don't.

[Syphon the Sun]

"Dido" is a singer (or the first queen of Carthage).

Perhaps you meant "ditto?"

[Peterlover14]

Ah, crap. Yeah I meant ditto, sorry guys.

[The Polish Boy]

The comics have pictures of all of them and of Battle School and some other things from the books

[Peterlover14]

we know

[Peterlover14]

Oh, I forgot. Welcome to Pweb, Polish Boy:)

[Glass]

I always pictured them something like actors I've seen before. Adult Ender I always pictured as Christian Bale with a beard and longish hair. Young Valentine to me would look like Clea DuVall and Peter would be Hayden Christiensen, circa Life As A House. Novinha I pictured as Paz Vega. Adult Valentine I guess looks kind of like Peri Gilpin in my mind.

yeah I imagined christian Bale as a decent visual of Ender.