15 Adult Actors Who Nailed Teenage Roles Despite Age Differences

It's no secret that a great number of teenage roles we see on the screen are played by adult actors, because the younger ones seem to lack the required skills and experiences that mature grow-ups have. Thankfully, this appears to be the right choice in most cases and, thanks to their amazing talent, many adult actors have indeed wowed us with their excellent performances as on-screen teenagers despite all the age differences.
In this post, we have listed 15 bright stars who played characters that are much younger than them in a fantastically convincing way, thus winning millions of hearts. We bet that you remember these iconic roles too, but did you know how old the actors were when they auditioned and got cast? The answer might surprise you. Just scroll down and check them out!

#1. Cory Monteith as Finn Hudson from "Glee" (2009)

Source: Brad Falchuk Teley-Vision, everett225/Depositphotos

#2. Florence Pugh as Amy March from "Little Women" (2019)

Source: Columbia Pictures, AdMedia/SIPA/East News

#3. Alexa Demie as Maddy Pérez from "Euphoria" (2019)

Source: A24, Admedia Inc/Sipa USA/East News

#4. Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker from "Spider-Man" (2002)

Source: Columbia Pictures, Jean_Nelson/Depositphotos

#5. Stockard Channing as Rizzo from "Grease" (1978)

Source: Paramount Pictures, East News

#6. Rachel McAdams as Regina George from "Mean Girls" (2004)

Source: Paramount Pictures, ASSOCIATED PRESS/East News

#7. Rachel McAdams as Allie Hamilton from "The Notebook" (2004)

Source: New Line Cinema, ASSOCIATED PRESS/East News

#8. Timothée Chalamet as Paul Atreides from "Dune" (2021)

Source: Warner Bros., ANGELA WEISS/AFP/East News

#9. Cole Sprouse as Jughead Jones from "Riverdale" (2017)

Source: Berlanti Productions, JEAN-BAPTISTE LACROIX/AFP/East News

#10. Michael J. Fox as Marty McFly from "Back to the Future" (1985)

Source: Universal Pictures, NBC/Courtesy Everett Collection/East News

#11. Aimee Lou Wood as Aimee Gibbs from "Sex Education" (2019)

Source: Eleven, TOLGA AKMEN/AFP/East News

#12. Emilia Clarke as Daenerys Targaryen from "Game of Thrones" (2011)

Source: HBO, Ollivier/MF/ABACA/East News

#13. Robert Downey Jr. as young Tony Stark from "Captain America: Civil War" (2016)

Source: Marvel Studios, NPA/The Grosby Group/East News

#14. Ralph Macchio as Daniel LaRusso from "The Karate Kid" (1984)

Source: Columbia Pictures, COLUMBIA PICTURES/ALBUM/East News

#15. Jessica Barden as Alyssa from "The End of the F***ing World" (2018)

Source: Clerkenwell Films, Isabelle Vautier/Starface/STARFACE PHOTO/East News