13 Actors Who Were 30-Plus Years Old When They Played Teenagers

Paul Rudd and Nicola Coughlan 🤝 being immortal ageless vampires

TV shows and movies frequently cast adults in teenage roles — one reason is that actors 18 and over can work longer onset hours, as opposed to minors. Most of the time, these actors are in their 20s, but some play teenagers well into their 30s and beyond. In some cases, older actors playing teens is part of the project's schtick.

Here are 13 actors who were 30-plus years old when they played teenagers:

1. Nicola Coughlan was 31 when she began playing 15-year-old Clare Devlin on Derry Girls.

Netflix

Here she is IRL around the same time:

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And she was 33 when she began playing Bridgerton's Penelope Featherington, who was about 17–18 at the show's start.

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Here she is IRL around the same time:

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2. On Pretty Little Liars, 31-year-old Bianca Lawson played 16-year-old Maya St. Germain.

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Here she is IRL around the same time:

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3. In Behind the Candelabra, Matt Damon, who was 42, played Scott Thorson, who was 17 at the start of the movie.

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Here he is IRL around the same time:

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4. Darren Barnet turned 30 the year that Never Have I Ever Season 2 premiered. His character, Paxton Hall-Yoshida, was in high school.

Netflix

Here he is IRL around the same time:

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5. In Wet Hot American Summer, 31-year-old Paul Rudd played 17-year-old Andy.

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Here he is IRL around the same time:

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6. Likewise, in Wet Hot American Summer, 30-year-old Amy Poehler played 17-year-old Susie.

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Here she is IRL around the same time:

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7. Jessica Marie Garcia was 31 when she began playing teenage Jasmine Flores on On My Block.

Netflix

Here she is IRL around the same time:

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8. When Shirley Henderson first played the ghost of 14-year-old Moaning Myrtle in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, she was 35.

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Here she is IRL around the same time:

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9. On The Dropout, 36-year-old Amanda Seyfried played Elizabeth Holmes, who was 18 at the start of the show.

Hul

Here she is IRL around the same time:

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10. On PEN15, 34-year-old series co-creator Maya Erskine played 13-year-old Maya Ishii-Peters.

Hulu

Here she is IRL around the same time:

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Here's a side-by-side:

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11. Likewise, on PEN15, Maya's fellow 34-year-old co-creator Anna Konkle played 13-year-old Anna Kone.

Hulu

Here she is IRL around the same time:

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Hulu, Cindy Ord / Getty Images for SCAD aTVfest 2019

12. Audrey Hepburn turned 32 the year she played Holly Golightly, who was supposed to be around 19, in Breakfast at Tiffany's.

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Here she is IRL around the same time:

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Here's a side-by-side:

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13. And finally, 33, Stockard Channing, who played Rizzo, was the oldest Grease actor who was cast as a high schooler.

Paramount Pictures / Via Max

Here she is IRL around the same time:

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Here's a side-by-side:

Paramount Pictures / Via Max, Bettmann / Getty Images

Who's the oldest actor you've seen playing a teenager or a child? Were they convincing in the role? Why or why not? Let us know in the comments!