It's okay Poly *pats her on the shoulder* I think the heat's getting to all of us.
Now, back to the topic. As a very recent HP convert (thanks alot Poly! ) I'd definately agree that the casting affected my perception of certain charaters at first. But I read faster than I get to the video store, so by the time I got to PofA I had only seen the first movie. Therefore, I had already developed a strong distaste for Sirius (apologies... really) and even Gary Oldman couldn't save him for me.
The point I'm trying to make is that I think it is a two way street. Yes, casting can affect my feelings toward a character, but the character can affect my feelings on casting as well...
Wow... sit on the fence much Daz? I need to learn to form an opinion.