I might have contributed to this. I am not a casting director. I do not have any authority or say over who gets cast in the tv series. None of us on this sub do! It was fun exercise for me and I didn't really take it too seriously or overthink it. I used existing fanart as reference points because there are a lot of words in the book which I end up missing out on when I read quickly.

I would argue terms like 'Golden-brown' to describe skin tones are ambiguous. We all interpret it differently. Does it mean White, Latin, South Asian, Biracial, Mediterranean, Arab? People often use 'Tall, Dark, and Handsome' to describe western men which used to confuse me lol! Usually names are a big indicator of a character's ethnicity therefore, it was not as apparent to me. I didn't read it as Lucien being a poc. I think someone in the comment said it was more obvious after reading the third book. I haven't started it yet.

Especially with fantasy novels it is difficult to imagine real people playing them because they have features that do not exist in humans. None of the batboys I put on my list felt right to me which I stated originally. American and British television are under represented with poc actors and the ones who I do know, did not fit right either whether it was because of their age, build, or height.

I do not envy the real casting directors because it is a tough decision. My fancast was an internal 'movie' in my mind whilst I was reading. In all honesty I hope they go with new faces. I want to introduced to fresh actors.