19 Actors Who Shouldn't Have Played Teenager Roles

When we were young, we considered adolescents to be grownups. They were all in their twenties even though the Power Rangers youngsters were all meant to be in high school. Some programs, like Saved by the Bell, were good at this, and Nickelodeon typically hires genuine teens in high school parts, but sometimes a true "grown-up" would get through.
The main factors that producers take into account when casting actors are their performing prowess, marketability, and chemistry with co-stars. The actor's real age is well down the list. Typically, this isn't a huge concern because anything between the ages of 30 and 50 in Hollywood is pretty much a wash, especially for guys (in sexist Hollywood, female actors generally tend to skew much younger).
However, occasionally characters in books that are situated in high schools are written blatantly as teens. In these situations, casting a 15-year-old actor is frequently unfeasible, or a much older actor just feels more comfortable in the role. The performers on this list were often ideal for their roles, but the age gap between them and their characters is just plain offensive.

1. Stockard Channing in ‘Grease’

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When 33-year-old actress Stockard Channing was chosen to play Pink Ladies leader Betty Rizzo in the 1978 film Grease, she was a long way from graduating from high school. Channing was the oldest actor in the "teenage" ensemble, followed by Jeff Conaway (also known as Kenickie), who was 26 years old, and Olivia Newton-John, who portrayed Sandy and turned 29 while filming. John Travolta was a relatively young 23 years old.

2. Alan Ruck In ‘Ferris Bueller’s Day Off’s Day Off’

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Alan Ruck was 29 years old when he portrayed Cameron, the best buddy of Matthew Broderick's Ferris Bueller in the well-known adolescent comedy.

3. Ashleigh Murray in ‘Riverdale’

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Josie McCoy, a student at Riverdale High and the band's main vocalist, is played by Ashleigh Murray. Murray was 29 when he was chosen for the part. Josie was still a high school student during the fourth season of the program, even though the actress who plays her was well into her 30s.

4. Gabrielle Carteris in ‘Beverly Hills, 90210’

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Gabrielle Carteris was 29 years old when she was cast as 16-year-old Andrea Zuckerman, making her the oldest cast member of Beverly Hills, 90210 and 13 years older than her role. Carteris was 39 years old when the program was canceled.

5. Trevor Donovan in ‘90210’

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The 2008–2013 remake of Beverly Hills, 90210 continued its predecessor's practice of using actors who were much too old for the role by casting 29-year-old Trevor Donovan as handsome high school athlete Teddy Montgomery.

6. Henry Winkler in ‘Happy Days’

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One of the most adored television characters of the 1970s was Arthur "The Fonz" Fonzarelli. When actor Henry Winkler was chosen to play the teenager in leather, he was 29 years old. Winkler was just one month shy of his 40th birthday in 1984, the year when "Happy Days" aired its final episode.

7. Bianca Lawson in ‘Pretty Little Liars’

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In 2010, actress Bianca Lawson, then 31 years old, took on the role of 17-year-old Maya St. Germain on Pretty Little Liars. She played a teenager in one of her early roles, Saved By the Bell: The New Class, from 1995. She then portrayed teenagers in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Dawson's Creek, and, most recently,
Teen Wolf from 2012. Because of this, Lawson has portrayed a teen for a lot longer than she did – talk about a protracted adolescence!

8. Meredith Monroe in ‘Dawson’s Creek’

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Andie McPhee, a character on Dawson's Creek, had just turned 14 when she first appeared in the second season of the adolescent drama. The character was portrayed by actress Meredith Monroe, who was 29 years old when she started the part. As a result, there was a 15-year age gap between the actor and the character.

9. Charisma Carpenter in ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’

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Charisma Carpenter was already 27 years old when she made her television debut on Buffy the Vampire Slayer as high school student Cordelia Chase.

10. Emily Kinney in ‘The Walking Dead’

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Emily Kinney, an actor, was a full ten years older than the 16-year-old role she was playing when she was cast in the The Walking Dead as fan favorite Beth Greene at the age of 26.

11. Eric Christian Olsen in ‘Fired Up’

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Eric Christian Anderson, who is currently best recognized for his work on NCIS: Los Angeles, was 31 when he portrayed a mediocre high school football player in the 2009 comedy Fired Up!

12. Gabrielle Union in ‘Bring It On’

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In the 2000 film Bring It On, Gabrielle Union, then 28, and Kirsten Dunst, then 17, played young cheerleaders.

13. Keiko Agena in ‘Gilmore Girls’

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Fans of Gilmore Girls adore actress Keiko Agena for her part as Lane Kim, Rory Gilmore's best friend, who she played when she was 16 years old (Alexis Bledel).

14. Parminder Nagra in ‘Bend It Like Beckham’

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Parminda Nagra's breakthrough performance as young soccer enthusiast Jess in the 2002 film Bend It Like Beckham came when she was 27 years old.

15. Rachel McAdams in ‘Mean Girls’

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In the iconic adolescent comedy Mean Girls, Rachel McAdams, a native of Canada, played a 16-year-old girl alongside Lindsay Lohan, who was 18 at the time.

16. Sissy Spacek in ‘Carrie’

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When Sissy Spacek, a future Oscar winner, was chosen to play a telekinetic 16-year-old in the 1974 film version of Stephen King's horror book Carrie, she was 26 years old.

17. Stacey Dash in ‘Clueless’

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In the 1995 comedy Clueless, Alicia Silverstone played 16-year-old Cher Horowitz; however, actress Stacey Dash played Cher's best friend Dionne; she was 28 years old, making her more than ten years older than her co-star.

18. Shirley Henderson in ‘Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire’

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Moaning Myrtle, a ghost of a former student who haunts a toilet in the ladies restroom at Hogwarts, was first introduced in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Shirley Henderson, an actress, was 36 years old when she was chosen for the part.

19. Matt Damon in ‘Behind The Candelabra’

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It's difficult to top Matt Damon in the HBO film Behind the Candelabra when it comes to being too old for a part. When he first encountered Liberace (played by Michael Douglas), Damon's character Scott Thorsen, who appears in the movie, was barely 18 years old. Fair enough, one had to suspend more than a little doubt when considering Damon's age of 41.