16 Actors Who Played Characters Onscreen That Were Way Younger Than Their Age In Real Life

Don't worry if you're middle-aged, you're still a teenager in Hollywood....

It's no secret that actors rarely play their own age in TV shows and movies...

StudioCanal

So, I've decided to round up some actor-character age gaps that might (or might not) just shock you:

1. Justin Prentice as Bryce Walker — 13 Reasons Why

Netflix

Justin plays the role of Bryce Walker who is the main antagonist of the show. In the series, Bryce is already portrayed as being slightly older than the other characters, and we know that he is 19-years-old in season three. However, in real life he would have been 24-years-old at the time of filming the third season, and honestly, he definitely does NOT look like he's fresh out of high school.

2. Darren Barnet as Paxton Hall-Yoshida — Never Have I Ever

Netflix

Darren played 18-year-old Paxton while he was aged 31 in real life. He had the biggest age gap from his character out of the whole cast, and this made some viewers uneasy, especially as Paxton had a romantic relationship with Devi who was played by Maitreyi Ramakrishnan who was 20-years-old at the time.

3. Rachel McAdams as Regina George — Mean Girls

Paramount Pictures

Rachel McAdams played the role of everyone's favourite mean girl, Regina George, at the age of 26. Her character was supposed to be around 16/17-years-old, meaning a ten year age gap. Director Mark Waters originally had Rachel audition for the role of Cady, and recalled "after it was over, I told her, 'I think you're a movie star, but you're way too old for this character. You just aren't going to be able to play the ingenue." Luckily for us, he decided she would be the perfect fit for Regina as it made sense that her character grew up a little too fast.

4. Jason Earles as Jackson Stewart — Hannah Montana

Disney Channel

Playing the role of Miley/Hannah's older brother, Jason started filming at the age of 29 when his character was supposed to be 16-years-old. In comparison, Miley Cyrus was just 13-years-old at the beginning, meaning the pair had a 16 year age gap. Look, it was kinda obvious that Jackson was older than 16, but hearing that he was mid-30s by the end of filming was mind-blowing, TBH.

5. Monique Coleman as Taylor McKessie — High School Musical

Disney Channel

While Taylor was written as being around 16/17-years-old, Monique who claimed the role was actually 25-years-old, and subsequently the oldest out of the core cast. It's worth noting that Corbin Blue (who played Taylor's love interest, Chad) was just 16-years-old at the time of filming.

6. Keiko Agena as Lane Kim — Gilmore Girls

The WB

I know I'm not the only one who was shocked to find out that Keiko was 27-years-old when she landed the role of Lane who was 16 in the series. In fact, this meant she was closer in age to Lauren Graham (Lorelai Gilmore) who was 33-years-old, than her onscreen best friend Rory Gilmore (Alexis Bidel) who was 19.

7. Nicholas Brendon as Xander Harris — Buffy the Vampire Slayer

The WB

Nicholas was a whole decade older than his 16-year-old character, Xander. NGL, this is one of those castings where you think, "was there really no one who at least looked like a teenager?!"

8. Nicola Coughlan as Clare Devlin — Derry Girls

Channel 4

Despite playing a 16-year-old, Nicola was almost double her character's age at the time of filming! Yup, 31-year-old Nicola bagged the role of Clare, and although I admit she doesn't look like a teenager, I would have put her as early twenties at the very most.

9. Shirley Henderson as Moaning Myrtle — Harry Potter

Warner Bros. Pictures

I can't work out if it's a compliment to be told that as a 37-year-old you'd be able to convincingly play a 14-year-old. However, that was the case for Shirley Henderson who took on the role of Moaning Myrtle, thus making her the oldest cast member to play a teenager in Harry Potter.

10. Tom Welling as Clark Kent — Smallville

The CW

Okay, come on now, in no world does he look like a believable 14-year-old. I mean, what 14-year-old has the build of someone who works out vigorously at least three times a week? Tom was 24-years-old when he accepted the role of Clark Kent, making him ten years senior to his character. I'd say he could get away with being 16 (at a push). Alas, I guess we have to reason it with the fact that he does have superpowers, thus, his ageing process is potentially different. 

11. Cole Sprouse as Jughead — Riverdale

The CW

Although 24-years-old in real life at the time of filming, I'd argue that Cole isn't too far off how some teenagers look. Maybe not the 16-year-old that Jughead is, but I certainly don't think he looks too old for the part.

12. Jessica Szohr as Vanessa Abrams — Gossip Girl

The CW

Jessica was 22-years-old when 16-year-old Vanessa first appeared on our screens. I think one of the biggest problems with Gossip Girl is that no one (apart from Jenny and Eric) actually look like teenagers in the first couple of seasons. I always put it down to the fact that most of them were incredibly rich, but still, it isn't very believable.

13. Sophie McShera as Daisy — Downton Abbey

ITV

While her age was never confirmed in the show, it's believed that Daisy was supposedly around 14/15-years-old. This is compared to Sophie who took on the role at 25-years-old. Honestly, I think she can get away with it and is probably one of the most believable onscreen teenagers I've seen.

14. Ncuti Gatwa as Eric Effiong — Sex Education

Netflix

Ncuti was around 30-years-old during the filming of Sex Education while playing a 17-year-old Eric. I feel as though a lot of the characters on this set looked older than high schoolers, and I doubt there is anyone else who could have been Eric. No. Way.

15. Emilia Clarke as Daenerys Targaryen — Game of Thrones

HBO

Although in the novels Daenerys is supposed to be 13, she was aged up in the TV series due to scenes of a sexual nature, meaning she was actually 16-years-old. Emilia was about 24-years-old at the time of filming, and I think that helps make certain scenes feel a bit more bearable to watch.

16. Stockard Channing as Rizzo — Grease

Paramount Pictures

It's no secret that the principal cast of Grease were a lot older than the teenage roles they were playing, but Stockard was the oldest cast member out of the core group. The actor was 33-years-old at the time, but casting director Joel Thurm defended remarks that the cast were too old: "It is not a documentary; it's a fantasy," before adding, "The only thing that was important was that the cast all looked about the same age as each other, which they did."

Are there any we missed out? Let us know in the comments below!