These Famous Actors Were Way Older Than the Teenagers They Played on Screen

Ages reflect publicly reported information at the time of filming or broadcast.

It might be hard to believe, but Pretty Little Liars actress Bianca Lawson is actually 45 years old. For nearly two decades, she has been convincingly playing teenagers on screen — and she is hardly the only one. Hollywood has a long-standing habit of casting full-grown adults in high school hallways, and the results are often surprisingly believable.

Bianca Lawson in ‘Pretty Little Liars’

Lawson seems to have discovered the secret to not aging. Ever since her time on Saved By The Bell: The New Class, she has looked virtually the same. She stepped into the role of Maya St. Germain on Pretty Little Liars at 31 and was 34 when the character’s story came to a close.

Luke Perry in ‘Beverly Hills, 90210’

To an entire generation of viewers, Luke Perry will always be Dylan McKay. He was just 24 years old when he first walked onto the set of the beloved teen drama in the ’90s.

Rachel McAdams in ‘Mean Girls’

Few performances have stuck around in pop culture quite like McAdams’ turn as Regina George. She was 26 at the time of filming — and that role has followed her everywhere since.

Stacey Dash in ‘Clueless’

Dash was 28 when she brought the 15-year-old Dionne Davenport to life in the 1995 classic Clueless. She then carried the character into the TV spinoff, playing the same teenager well into her 30s.

Leonardo DiCaprio in ‘Catch Me If You Can’

DiCaprio was 28 years old when he slipped into the shoes of the teenage con artist Frank Abagnale in Catch Me If You Can — and made it look completely effortless.

Matt Damon in ‘Behind the Candelabra’

Damon was 43 when he took on the role of 17-year-old Scott Thorson in the 2013 HBO film Behind the Candelabra — one of the more striking age gaps on this list.

Shirley Henderson in ‘Harry Potter’

Moaning Myrtle may have been a 14-year-old ghost, but the actress behind the role was 36 when she first appeared in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. By the time she returned for Goblet of Fire, Henderson was 40.

Gabrielle Union in ‘Bring It On’

Union was 27 years old when she suited up as a high school cheerleader in the fan-favorite comedy Bring It On — and she pulled it off without missing a beat.

Ian Somerhalder in ‘The Vampire Diaries’

Playing a vampire who is frozen at 17 forever is one thing — doing it while actually being 31 is another. Somerhalder was that age when the show kicked off, and he was 38 by the time it wrapped, never once breaking character as the eternally young Damon Salvatore.

Gabrielle Carteris in ‘Beverly Hills, 90210’

Carteris was 29 years old when she first portrayed the 16-year-old Andrea Zuckerman — a gap of over a decade between actress and character.

Jennifer Grey in ‘Dirty Dancing’

Grey was 27 when she played the teenage Frances “Baby” Houseman in the 1987 classic — ten full years older than the girl she was portraying on screen.

Ashleigh Murray in ‘Riverdale’

Now 35, Murray played a teenage character for the entire run of Riverdale, keeping up with a cast of similarly aged adults playing high schoolers.

Shay Mitchell in ‘Pretty Little Liars’

Mitchell was 23 when Pretty Little Liars first aired and she took on the role of teenager Emily Fields. She is now 37.

Michael J. Fox in ‘Back to the Future’

Fox was 29 years old when he reprised his role as the teenage time-traveler Marty McFly in Back to the Future Part III.

Felicity Jones in ‘Breathe In’

Jones was 29 when she stepped into the role of teenage Sophie in the 2013 drama Breathe In.

Troian Bellisario in ‘Pretty Little Liars’

Bellisario was 25 at the start of Pretty Little Liars and 29 by its final episode, spending the entire run playing the teenage Spencer Hastings.

Robert Pattinson in ‘Twilight’

At 26, Pattinson took on the role of Edward Cullen — a vampire who never ages past his teens — and earned a wave of awards and an even bigger wave of devoted fans.

Ian Ziering in ‘Beverly Hills, 90210’

Ziering was 26 when he first appeared on screen as the teenage Steve Sanders in Beverly Hills, 90210.

Emilia Clarke in ‘Game of Thrones’

Clarke was 25 years old when she began portraying Daenerys Targaryen, a character who starts the story at just 16 years old in Game of Thrones.

Monique Coleman in ‘High School Musical’

Coleman was 25 when she first appeared as the sharp and driven teen Taylor McKessie in the original High School Musical.

Amber Riley in ‘Glee’

From the show’s debut in 2009 through its final season in 2015, Riley played the teenage Mercedes Jones on Glee, finishing the series at 29 years old.

Anna Akana in ‘You Get Me’

Akana was 27 when she took on the role of a teenager in the 2017 thriller You Get Me.

Andrew Garfield in ‘The Amazing Spider-Man’

Garfield was 31 years old when he donned the Spider-Man suit to play 17-year-old Peter Parker on the big screen.

Jenna Dewan in ‘Fab Five: The Texas Cheerleader Scandal’

Dewan was 28 when she played high school cheerleader Emma Carr in the film.

Taylor Kitsch in ‘Friday Night Lights’

Kitsch was 27 when he took on the role of the brooding sophomore Tim Riggins in Friday Night Lights.

Selma Blair in ‘Cruel Intentions’

Blair was 27 when she brought the naive teenage Cecile Caldwell to life in the 1999 film Cruel Intentions.

Alison Lohman in ‘Flicka’

Lohman was 27 years old when she played a 16-year-old in Flicka — stepping into a role eleven years younger than herself.

Kenny Wormald in ‘Footloose’

Wormald was 27 when he took on the role of the spirited 17-year-old Ren McCormack in the 2011 remake of Footloose.

Ross Butler in ’13 Reasons Why’

Butler was 26 when he played the teenage Zach Dempsey in 13 Reasons Why.

Ashley Benson in ‘Pretty Little Liars’

Benson was 27 when Pretty Little Liars came to an end, having spent the entire series playing the 16-year-old Hanna.

Greta Onieogou in ‘All American’

Onieogou was 28 when she joined the cast of the 2018 drama All American as a high school student.

Kevin Bacon in ‘Footloose’ (1984)

Long before the remake, Kevin Bacon was 26 when he originated the role of the teenage Ren McCormack in the 1984 original.

Tom Welling in ‘Smallville’

Welling was 24 when Smallville began and 34 by the time it ended — spending a full decade playing a character significantly younger than himself.

Kristen Bell in ‘Veronica Mars’

Bell was 24 years old when she first stepped into the shoes of the sharp-witted 17-year-old detective Veronica Mars.

Evan Peters in ‘American Horror Story’

Peters was 24 when he made his debut as the troubled teenage Tate in American Horror Story back in 2011.

John Travolta in ‘Grease’

Travolta was 24 when he gave one of cinema’s most iconic teenage performances as Danny Zuko in Grease.

Cole Sprouse in ‘Riverdale’

Sprouse has a naturally youthful look that has worked in his favor — he convincingly plays the 16-year-old Jughead Jones on Riverdale, even well into his 30s.

Sean Patrick Thomas in ‘Save the Last Dance’

Thomas was 31 years old when he played the teenage Derek Reynolds in the 2001 drama Save the Last Dance.

Trevor Donovan in ‘90210’

Donovan had just turned 31 when he joined the cast of 90210, playing the teenage Teddy Montgomery throughout his time on the show.