40 Actors Who Played Teen Roles as Adults

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Cole Sprouse TV Show: Riverdale Although Jughead is technically a high school student throughout his time on Riverdale , Sprouse was 24 when the show premiered in January 2017. Netflix

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Stockard Channing Movie: Grease Although the 1978 classic centers around high school students, Stockard Channing was actually in her early 30s when portraying Rizzo, leader of the Pink Ladies. CBS Photo Archive - Getty Images

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Cory Monteith TV Show: Glee When Glee first premiered in 2009, Finn Hudson was the high school quarterback who found love singing in glee club. While filming the first season, Monteith was actually 27, a decade older than his character. FOX - Getty Images

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Paul Walker Movie: Varsity Blues Although the film tells the story of a small-town high school football team, Walker was in actuality 26 years old at the time of its 1999 premiere. Paramount

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Henry Winkler TV Show: Happy Days You might recognize Arthur "the Fonz" Fonzarelli, a.k.a. America's favorite teen greaser, from his time on Happy Days. But throughout the show's run, Winkler was actually in his thirties. ABC Photo Archives - Getty Images

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Jesse Metcalfe Movie: John Tucker Must Die Metcalfe might have played a high school basketball star/lothario in John Tucker Must Die, but he was actually 28 when the 2006 film came out. 20th Century Fox

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Rachel McAdams Movie: Mean Girls Who could forget McAdams' iconic portrayal of high school queen bee Regina George? The interesting thing to note is that the actress was 26 when the 2004 movie came out in theaters. CBS Photo Archive - Getty Images

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Orlando Bloom Movie: Pirates of the Carribean: Curse of the Black Pearl As young apprentice Will Turner in the popular Disney franchise, Bloom was already in his mid-twenties when the first movie premiered in 2003. Buena Vista Pictures

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Jennifer Grey Movie: Dirty Dancing In the popular film, Baby (Grey's lead character) is about 17 years old. At the time of filming, Jennifer Grey was a decade older than the character she portrayed. Archive Photos - Getty Images

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Alan Ruck Movie: Ferris Bueller's Day Off If you've seen Ferris Bueller's Day Off, you're well aware of Cameron Frye, best friend to Ferris. Although they are meant to be high school students, Alan Ruckwho now stars as the hysterical Connor Roy in Succession was pushing thirty at the time of its 1986 movie release. CBS Photo Archive - Getty Images

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Tobey Maguire Movie: Spider-Man In the 2002 installment of the popular franchise, Peter Parker is a high school senior who develops super spider powers from a radioactive bite. By the time the movie premiered, Maguire was actually 27. James Devaney - Getty Images

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Keanu Reeves Movie: Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure Fans might remember Reeves ' breakout role as slacker teen Ted Logan in the 1989 film. As it turns out, the actor was 25 years old when the movie came out in theaters. Orion Pictures

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Emilia Clarke TV Show: Game of Thrones In the Song of Ice and Fire novels, Daenerys Targaryen is meant to be around fifteen years old. When the HBO smash hit premiered in 2011, Clarke was 25, ten years older than her book character (an age in the show is never particularly stated). HBO

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Matt Damon Movie: Good Will Hunting Ok... so maybe Will Hunting in the 1997 Academy Award-winning film isn't exactly a teenager, and moreso a 20-year-old savant. But Damon was 27 when the film came out, making him significantly older than who he played. Miramax Films

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Leonardo DiCaprio Movie: Catch Me If You Can When the 2002 movie was released, DiCaprio was already a bonafide star. But unlike his character, who was a teenager, the actor was pushing 28 during filming. Dreamworks

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Darren Barnet TV Show: Never Have I Ever Sure, Paxton Hall-Yoshida in the new Netflix series might be a high school junior. But Darren Barnet is actually 29, over a decade older than his young character. Netflix

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Michael J. Fox TV Show: Family Ties Before Fox became famous as Marty McFly in Back to the Future, he was the star of the popular 80s sitcom Family Ties. While his character, Alex, was meant to be a high school student, the actor was in his twenties throughout the show's seven year run. NBC - Getty Images

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Joe Keery TV Show: Stranger Things Portraying teen Steve Harrington in the Netflix hit, Keery was actually 24 when the show premiered in 2016. Netflix

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Gabourey Sibide Movie: Precious Although Precious, the main character in the 2009 film, is meant to be 16 years old, Sibide was a decade older than who she portrayed. Lionsgate

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Ben McKenzie (The O.C.) TV Show: The O.C. McKenzie might be best known for portraying troubled teen Ryan Atwood on the hit teen drama. But he was 25 when the show premiered in 2003. HBO Max

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Shirley Henderson Movie: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets Moaning Myrtle might have been a ghostly Hogwarts pupil when Harry Potter fans first meet her, but Henderson was already pushing 40 at the time of filmingway older than people might expect. Warner Bros. Pictures

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Andrew Garfield Movie: The Amazing Spider-Man When the 2012 installment of the film franchise premiered, Garfield was almost 30, at least ten years older than his character. Jaimie Trueblood/Columbia Pictures

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Emma Thompson Emma Thompson might have won an Oscar for her turn as a young Elinor Dashwood in 1995's Sense and Sensibility, but in actuality, she was 36 when the film premiered that December. Columbia Pictures

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Kevin Bacon Movie: Footloose Bacon became a household name when he portrayed teen Ren McCormack in 1984's Footloose. But when the film came out, he was in his mid twenties. CBS Photo Archive - Getty Images

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Wood Harris Movie: Remember the Titans Although Harris might've looked young enough to portray a high school football player in the 2000 hit, but he was actually 31 years old. Buena Vista Pictures

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Jason Earles TV Show: Hannah Montana Fans might recognize Earles from his turn as Miley Cyrus' older teen brother on the hit Disney Channel series Hannah Montana. But he was well into his late twenties, pushing thirty by the time the show premiered. Eric McCandless - Getty Images

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Barbra Streisand Movie: Yentl In the 1983 drama, Streisand's character is meant to be 16. In truth, the singer/actress was a quarter of a century older than her character, with the film coming out when she was 41. Hulton Archive - Getty Images

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Chase Stokes TV Show: Outer Banks When the series premiered on Netflix in April 2020, fans expected the actors to be of similar age to their characters. In actuality, Chase Stokes (aka John B.) is 27 years old, much older than his teen character. Netflix

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Tom Welling Movie: Cheaper By the Dozen As high school senior Charlie Baker, fans might have expected Welling to be close to his character's age. But when the film came out in theaters in 2003, the actor was actually 26. 20th Century Fox

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Luke Perry TV Show: Beverly Hills, 90210 Dylan McKay might be an iconic 90s high school heartthrob character, but when the show first premiered in 1990, Perry was actually 24 years old. Fox Broadcasting - Getty Images

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Channing Tatum Movie: She's the Man As teen soccer player Duke Orsino, Tatum was known to make fans swoon after seeing the 2006 film. But the actor was actually 25 at the time it premiered. DreamWorks

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Ralph Macchio Movie: The Karate Kid Ralph Macchio became forever tied to the film franchise with his portrayal of teen Daniel LaRusso. Despite his young appearance, when the film came out, Macchio was actually 23. Columbia Pictures - Getty Images

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Stacey Dash Movie: Clueless Fans might recognize Stacey Dash from her role as Dionne Davenport in the 1995 film. Unlike her young counterpart, the actress was well into her late twenties when filming. CBS Photo Archive - Getty Images

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Miles Teller Movie: The Spectacular Now Although fans might know Teller from his other films, the actor was 26 when he portrayed Sutter Keely in the 2013 movie. A24

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Gabrielle Union Movie: Bring It On Union 's character Isis was iconic in the 2000 film. But the actress was well past her teen years when filming, being 28 at the time of its release. Universal Studios

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Ross Butler TV Show: 13 Reasons Why Butler might have a young face, but he actually was 27 at the time of its 2017 premiere. Netflix

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Winona Ryder Movie: Girl, Interrupted In the hit 1999 film, Ryder's character is meant to be 18. In reality, when the movie came out, Ryder was a decade older than her character, being 28 at the time of its release. Columbia Pictures

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Meredith Monroe TV Show: Dawson's Creek Despite portraying high school student Andie McPhee on the 1998 hit teen drama, Monroe was 29 at the time of the show's first season premiere. Hulu