Barristan the Bold

Barristan, the Hand of the King before Jamie, played by Ian McElhinney is played almost completely true to his identity in the books, initially in the show. But when he travels to Essos in order to join Daenerys, he lets his beard and hair grow and takes on the name Arstan Whitebeard. He eventually trims the beard and hair to prove his true identity to the Khaleesi but the show did not portray this temporary change in character’s appearance. We are told in the book that, “Long white hair fell to his shoulders, and a silky white beard covered the lower half of his face.”