13 Examples Of Hollywood Casting Literal Grown-Ups As Teens And 12 Times When They Actually Nailed It
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Hollywood is notorious for casting older actors in roles that are meant to portray high school-aged students and teenagers. Sometimes it can get so wild that you find yourself watching people play a character that's half their real age.
So, here are 13 adult actors who took the fountain of youth to a whole new level and portrayed teenagers on-screen, and 12 then-teenage actors who actually got cast as teens:
1.Adult: Audrey Hepburn
In one of Audrey Hepburn's most popular movies, Breakfast at Tiffany's, she was 31 years old, portraying 19-year-old Holly Golightly.
2.Teenager: Lindsay Lohan
Lindsay gave us the back-to-back-to-back excellence that is Freaky Friday, Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen, and Mean Girls, and she did it all as just a teen! During this incredible 2003–2004 stint, Lindsay was between 16 and 17 years old, playing characters all between the ages of 15 and 16.
3.Adult: Rachel McAdams
Unlike her costar, Rachel McAdams was 25 when she played 16-year-old Regina George. That same year, she also played 17-year-old Allie Hamilton in The Notebook.
4.Teenager: Amanda Seyfried
When Amanda Seyfried played 16-year-old Karen Smith in Mean Girls, she was not too far off from her character in age. She was 18 when the film was released.
5.Adult: Shirley Henderson
Shirley, who played the forever 14-year-old ghost of Myrtle Warren (aka Moaning Myrtle) in the Harry Potter series, was actually 37 when she first popped onto our screens in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.
6.Teenager: Anna Cathcart
Anna, who played 11-year-old Kitty in To All The Boys I've Loved Before (TATBILB) and its spin-off XO, Kitty was just 15 years old when TATBILB premiered.
7.Adult: Matt Damon
As one of the wildest on this list, Matt Damon, who played Scott Thorson in Behind the Candelabra, was a solid 42 years old when he played 17-year-old Scott.
8.Teenager: Storm Reid
While all of her other cast mates were 20+ and playing high school students, Storm Reid was actually 15 years old during Season 1 of Euphoria, where she portrayed 13-year-old Gia.
9.Adult: Stockard Channing
Stockard, who played the hell out of 18-year-old Rizzo in Grease, was actually the oldest amongst the main cast at 33 years old. Notably, she wasn't the only one; the entire main cast ranged between the ages of 20 and 33, intended to play 17- to 18-year-olds.
10.Teenager: James Lafferty
James, who played my favorite brother on One Tree Hill, Nathan Scott, was the only teenager amongst his main cast of Tree Hill Ravens. He was 18 years old when the show started and played 16-year-old Nathan. His other main cast mates were all between the ages of 21 and 22 when the show aired.
11.Adult: Monique Coleman
Finding this one out as a kid was so eye-opening because who would have thought?! Monique Coleman played 16/17-year-old Taylor McKessie in the High School Musical trilogy. To much of my generation's shock, Monique Coleman was actually 25 years old and the oldest amongst the main cast.
12.Teenager: Corbin Bleu
Contrary to his on-screen love interest and now longtime friend, Monique, Corbin Bleu was the youngest in the HSM cast at just 16 years old when he was playing 16-year-old Chad Danforth.
13.Adult: Francia Raisa
While Francia was portraying first-year college student and 18-year-old Ana Torres on the TV show Grown-ish, she was actually 30 when the show first aired.
14.Teenager: Shailene Woodley
While Shailene was taking on the troubles of 15-year-old Amy Juergens in The Secret Life of the American Teenager, she was actually 16 years old when the show first aired.
15.Adult: Bianca Lawson
Wildly enough, both my 1987-born sister and my 1997-born self watched Bianca Lawson play teenagers while we were growing up. When she took on the role of 16-year-old Maya St. Germain in Pretty Little Liars, she was actually 31.
16.Teenager: Sasha Pieterse
As the youngest in the entire Pretty Little Liars cast, Sasha was only 14 years old when she first appeared on our TV screens as one of the greatest TV mean girls to ever live, 15-year-old Allison DiLaurentis.
17.Adult: Alan Ruck
To my forever surprise, Alan Ruck, who played senior high school student (17 to 18-year-old) Cameron Frye in Ferris Bueller's Day Off, was actually 29 years old when the movie was released. The star of the movie, Matthew Broderick, was 24.
18.Teenager: Molly Ringwald
This one is so correct to me. The icon that is Molly Ringwald, who played Samantha Baker in Sixteen Candles and Claire Standish in The Breakfast Club back-to-back, was actually 16 during the premieres of both of these classics.
19.Adult: Nicola Coughlan
The stunning Nicola plays 16-year-old Clare Devlin in the TV show Derry Girls. Surprisingly enough, Nicola is not a 16-year-old girl and was actually 31 by the time the show premiered. Nicola also notably plays 17-year-old (as of the first season) Penelope Featherington in Bridgerton; she was 33 when the first season aired.
20.Teenager: Taylor Momsen
Xoxo, Little J. Taylor Momsen played 14-year-old Jenny Humphrey in one of the greatest teen shows ever made, Gossip Girl. Surprisingly, they hit the nail right on the head this time; Taylor was 14 when the first season was filming.
21.Adult: Ashleigh Murray
Ashleigh wonderfully played the number one Pussycat, Josie, in Riverdale. Ashleigh was actually 28 when she first appeared as 15-year-old Josie McCoy in Season 1 of the show. Her other cast mates ranged in age from 19–26 when the show first started.
22.Teenager: Taylor Lautner
"Where the hell have you been, loca?!" When Taylor Lautner gave us life playing Jacob Black in the Twilight series, they were pretty spot on with his age, as he was just 16 years old while filming the first movie and Jacob was supposed to be 15. For reference, all of the actors who portrayed the high school-aged Cullens (including Kristen Stewart) ranged between the ages of 18 and 24.
23.Adult: Barbara Streisand
Total icon Barbara Streisand played 17-year-old Yentl in the movie she notably wrote, produced, directed, and starred in, Yentl. At the time of filming the movie, Barbara was actually 41.
24.Teenager: Hillary Duff
The icon of all teen icons Hillary Duff, who portrayed 17-year-old Sam Montgomery, was surprisingly a bit younger than her high school junior-aged character when she filmed A Cinderella Story. Hillary was only 15 when they filmed the movie and 16 when it was released. In comparison, her costar and love interest in the movie Chad Michael Murray was already 22.
25.Adult: Andrew Garfield
Out of all of the Spider-Men, Andrew Garfield was actually the oldest at 27 when he put on the spidey suit and became 17-year-old Peter Parker in The Amazing Spider-Man. Andrew was 29 by the time the first movie was finally released.
