Shane:

if you draw a picture of any one of these it is the actor's likeness you are reproducing, cause the character doesn't have a likeness independent of the actor

There are certainly some actors/actresses who are similar in many of their roles, Emma Thompson for one, who was almost indistinguishable in 'Sense & Sensibility' versus 'Carrington' despite playing two very different women. However, I've always considered that to be a sign of bad acting...

(Though in the case of 'Carrington', I recall the director saying that Thompson adding her name to the production was the catalyst for funding appearing, so I can forgive almost any amount of Emma looking like Emma...)

I guess all I'm trying to say is that a skilled artist (ie not me!!) might be able to capture an image that is the character and not the actor/actress, despite some physical similarities between the two. The process would be assisted by the actor/actress being of the school that tends to look/feel radically different between parts, and hindered by the opposite. Perhaps particularly in the case of women, it would also be helped by casting based on acting ability rather than merely in conformance with the prevailing views on feminine beauty. (To my eyes, Scott Thomas is extremely attractive, yet in 'Angels & Insects' she successfully played a woman one of whose main features was lack of sexual attraction.)

I fear, if only from reading 'Blake's 7: The Inside Story', that at least one of the female crew members was cast predominantly on appearance.

Tavia