Age is a social construct!
As a consumer of film and television, I am aware that adults are usually the ones playing teens on screen. However, there are times when even the best of actors isn’t fooling ANYONE!
NBC
Here are some of the wildest examples:
1.
Stockard Channing was 33 when she played Rizzo in Grease:
Paramount Pictures
Did she fool us? No. However, there were ~worse things she could do~.
2.
Michael Tucci was 31 when he played Sonny in Grease:
Paramount Pictures
Let’s call a spade a spade here: not a single actor in Grease looked like they were in high school.
3.
Darren Barnet was 28 when he played Paxton Hall-Yoshida in Never Have I Ever:
Netflix
I’m just glad he was old enough IRL for me to thirst after.
4.
Antwon Tanner was 28 when he first appeared as Skills on One Tree Hill:
The WB / The CW
Even 10-year-old me noticed that something was afoot.
5.
Rebel Wilson was 32 when she played Fat Amy/Patricia in Pitch Perfect:
Universal Pictures
Not gonna lie, she had me in the first half.
6.
Channing Tatum was 26 when he played Duke Orsino in She’s the Man:
DreamWorks Pictures
THEY DO NOT make teenage boys like him in high school, I can tell you that.
7.
Bianca Lawson was 31 when she first appeared as Maya St. Germain on Pretty Little Liars:
ABC Family
Her giveaway was that she played a teen BACK IN 1993! (PLL premiered nearly two decades later.)
8.
Gabrielle Union was 27 when she played Isis in Bring It On:
Universal Pictures
Let’s be honest…Gabrielle Union can still play a high schooler in 2020.
9.
Henry Winkler was 28 when he first appeared as Fonzie on Happy Days:
ABC
…Who were they tryna fool?
10.
Tom Welling was 24 when he first appeared as Clark Kent on Smallville:
The WB
Twenty-four ain’t bad…except HE WAS SUPPOSED TO BE 14 IN THE FIRST SEASON OF SMALLVILLE!
11.
Shirley Henderson was 37 when she first appeared as Moaning Myrtle in the Harry Potter series:
Warner Bros.
Like, in 2005 she wrapped as Moaning Myrtle and in 2008 she played the dorm mother in Wild Child. Only in Hollywood, folks.
12.
Alan Ruck was 30 when he played Cameron Frye in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off:
Paramount Pictures
I’ve never seen this film, but even *I* know that is not what a teen looks like.
13.
Tammin Sursok was 27 when she first appeared as Jenna Marshall on Pretty Little Liars:
ABC Family
I saw past those glasses, girl!
14.
Timothy Granaderos was 31 when he first appeared as Monty on 13 Reasons Why:
Netflix
No comment.
15.
Jimmy Tatro was 25 when he first appeared as Dylan Maxwell on American Vandal:
Netflix
I think…this was part of the joke? It also didn’t help that he was opposite Griffin Gluck, who was actually, like, 14.
16.
Ian Somerhalder was 31 when he first appeared as Damon Salvatore on The Vampire Diaries:
The CW
We never really know how old Damon is SUPPOSED to be. In the books, it was implied that he wasn’t much older than Stefan, but it’s not 31.
17.
Sean Patrick Thomas was 31 when he played Derek Reynolds in Save the Last Dance:
Paramount Pictures
See: Darren Barnet.
18.
Cam Gigandet was 25 when he played Ryan McCarthy in Never Back Down:
Summit Entertainment
Sir, those muscles are that of an ADULT MAN.
19.
Finally, Francia Raisa was 31 when she first appeared as Ana Torres in Grown-ish:
Hulu
More like the secret life of the ~pretend teenager~.
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