Nine much older actors who’ve played teenagers in pop culture

In honor of Ben Platt reprising his role as Evan Hansen, here’s a list of actors who were much older than the teenagers they portrayed

Rachel Brodsky
Los Angeles
Saturday 22 May 2021 00:04 BST
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Dear Evan Hansen

This past week, Universal released the trailer for Dear Evan Hansen's film adaptation.

As the trailer made the rounds on social media, audiences reacted to Tony award-winning actor Ben Platt, who played Evan Hansen on Broadway, reprising his role in the film.

Some took issue with the fact that Platt, 27, will portray a high school student in the film, posting memes and poking fun at the age difference.

Platt addressed the situation in a tweet. While the message appears to have now been deleted from his account, Variety published a screenshot of it.

“Thank u from the bottom of my [heart] for the outpouring of trailer love yesterday,” the message read. “The film required me to revisit areas of personal pain, so seeing ppl excited & moved makes it so deeply worth it. PS to the randos being jerks about age, read this great article and/or watch grease.”

Platt certainly is not the first older actor to portray a teenager in film or television, though admittedly it a less common practice in contemporary pop culture. (And by “less common”, we mean instead of 29-year-olds playing high school seniors, instead you’re more likely to see 22-year-olds.)

In light of the discussion, The Independent decided to make a list of 10 actors who were famously much older than the teenagers they portrayed.

Stacey Dash in Clueless (1995)

Stacey Dash as “Dionne Davenport” in Clueless (1995)

Playing 16-year-old Dionne, best friend to Cher Horowitz (Alicia Silverstone), actor Stacey Dash was actually 29 at the time of filming Amy Heckerling’s Nineties teen classic.

These days, Dash is better known for being a conservative commentator for Fox News, and ran for Congress in California in 2018.

Emma Thompson in Sense and Sensibility (1995)

Emma Thompson as “Elinor Dashwood” in Sense and Sensibility (1995)

In Ang Lee’s 1995 adaptation of Jane Austen’s 1811 novel Sense and Sensibility, a then 35-year-old Emma Thompson portrayed the film’s lead, 19-year-old Elinor Dashwood.

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Rachel McAdams, Lacey Chabert and Amanda Seyfried in Mean Girls (2004)

Rachel McAdams as “Regina George” in Mean Girls (2004)

Though she famously portrayed queen bee Regina George in Tina Fey’s high school comedy, Rachel McAdams was 26 at the time of filming. (By comparison, Lindsay Lohan, who played main character Cady Heron, was 18.)

Gabrielle Carteris as Andrea Zuckerman in Beverly Hills, 90210

Gabrielle Carteris as “Andrea Zuckerman” in Beverly Hills, 90210 (1990)

If high-achieving teenaged newspaper editor Andrea Zuckerman seemed unusually mature for her age, it’s probably because the actor who played her was a fully fledged adult. Gabrielle Carteris was pushing 30 when teen drama Beverly Hills, 90210 premiered in 1990.

Stockard Channing in Grease (1978)

Stockard Channing as “Rizzo” in Grease (1978)

Stockard Channing as Grease’s Pink Ladies leader is probably one of the most cited examples of an adult portraying a teen in film. While most of the cast was far from high school age (Olivia Newton-John was 28, John Travolta was 23 and Jeff Conaway was 26, just to name a few), Channing was the oldest “teen” at 33.

But would we have had it any other way? Even nearly half a century later, the smart-mouthed Rizzo (”I feel like a defective typewriter... I skipped a period!”) is one of the defining roles of Channing’s career.

Henry Winkler as “Fonzie” on Happy Days (1974)

Sit on it! As TV’s best-known greaser, the leather jacket-wearing, high school-aged Arthur “Fonzie” Fonzarelli was portrayed by Henry Winkler, then in his late-20s, and full of still-perfect catchphrases. Aaaaay!

Alan Ruck in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986)

Alan Ruck as “Cameron Frye” in Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986)

When he portrayed Cameron Frye, Ferris Bueller’s anxiety-ridden best friend, actor Alan Ruck was definitely no high school student. Today, you might know him as Connor Roy on HBO’s hit media magnate drama Succession. But a few decades ago, he was a 30-year-old playing a kid half his age in this John Hughes classic.

Shirley Henderson in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002)

Shirley Henderson as “Moaning Myrtle” in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002) and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005)

Playing a teenager when you’re much older is one thing, but playing a dead teenager who also happens to be a ghost? That’s what actor Shirley Henderson, then in her 40s, did in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002) and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005).

Joshua Jackson and Meredith Monroe in Dawson’s Creek (1998)

Meredith Monroe as “Andie McPhee” on Dawson's Creek (1998)

When she first appeared in Season 2 of beloved WB tentpole Dawson’s Creek, actor Meredith Monroe played high-strung 16-year-old Andie McPhee, a character who helped redefine the way TV addressed mental health. Fun fact, though: Monroe was 29 when she started playing Andie. An even more fun fact? The actor who played her 17-year-old brother Jack, Kerr Smith, was 27, a full decade older than his character.

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