Have you ever seen or met someone -- in person, on TV, in a movie, or whatever -- who made you think "Oh my goodness, that's my character!" Who was it (if you know), and what were the similarities?No, actually. I don't tend to have really good visuals for my characters in my head. It's just not me. I know how they act without thinking, but not how they look.
I have been able to, in the past, look for actors/actresses who I think might look like my character. Usually in part of a "cast list." And sometimes, I'll see someone and say, "Ooh, yeah, I'll have to use him/her as a character someday/as my new character." I did that with an Amber character for a game I never played in, pulling images of Claudia Black for Ekaterine, and ended up giving all the images I found to Kris Fazzari last year at ACN, for her use for Juliana in TRiH.
I'm right now trying to find someone for a new character in a game Lou's starting up. I haven't quite decided, but I think she's going to be dark-haired. So I'm thinking of dark-haired actresses. I like Sela Ward, but she's getting old and I want someone young. I'm also thinking slightly Asian, so Kristin Kreuk, as she's the right age. But it's not a "Oh, that is so my character!" moment.
Google Images is a great thing.
There have been characters on TV that have ACTED like my characters, but they didn't look at all alike. I'd have to think about that for a bit, but I'm sure they'd come to me eventually.