We are all aware that it's a bit of a norm in the entertainment industry to cast WAY older actors to play teenagers. While some are understandable as they're done out of absolute necessity, some of these casting choices are downright ridiculous (Read: the entire cast ofGrease)!
However, here's a list of some beloved teen characters who've been played by actors who were actually teenagers (or just out of their teens), for a change.
1.First of all, our favourite not-a-mean-girl from Mean Girls — Lindsay Lohan — was only 17-years-old when she played the role of Cady Heron.
3.Remember Barb from Stranger Things? Shannon Purser, who played the much-loved character was only 19-years-old when the first season of the show came out.
4.Michael Cera was only 19-years-old when he played the awkward Paulie Bleeker in Juno. His co-star, Elliot Page, who played the titular character, was 20.
5.Our favourite duo — Swayam and Sharon from Dil Dostii Dance — were played by Shantanu Maheshwari and Vrushika Mehta, who were 20 and 17-years-old, respectively, at the time.
6.However, Sumedh Mudgalkar, who played Raghav, was only 17-years-old.
7.Revathi Pillai and Alam Khan from TVF's smash hit, Kota Factory were 17 and 20, respectively, when the first season of the show came out.
8.Ahsaas Channa who is also a part of the show and has been in the industry ever since she was a child (spot her in Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna), was 20-years-old when the first season came out on YouTube.
9.Chaneil Kular who plays the role of Anwar in Sex Education, was not a teen, but 20-years-old as well, when the first season of the show had come out back in 2019.
10.Lino Facioli who plays Dex, one of the "quiz heads" on the show, was 20 when he appeared in the second season. He was previously seen in Game of Thrones as Robin Arryn.
11.Ester Expósito and Itzan Escamilla, who play the roles of high school students Carla and Samuel on the Spanish show Élite were 18 and 20-years-old, respectively, when the show first aired on Netflix in 2018.
12.Storm Reid who plays the character of Gia, Zendaya's younger sister, in Euphoria, was actually 16 when the show aired in 2019.
13.And finally, we have the entire cast of the Norwegian teen drama Skam, which portrays Norwegian culture and teen life accurately and beautifully. The characters were played by actors between the age of 16 to 20 years old.
Did I miss out on anyone? Let me know in the comments below!
