29 Actors Who Played Characters Way Younger Than Them In Real Life

Acting as a profession often requires one to play roles that are younger than one’s age, that’s common. But when the difference is around a decade or more, you have to sit up and take notice. Here are a few examples of the same.

1. Leonardo DiCaprio in Catch Me If You Can.

The Oscar-winning actor played the role of a 17-year-old bank robber when he was actually 28 in real life. We were sold, though, so…

2. Darren Barnet in Never Have I Ever.

The much-sought after Paxton Hall-Yoshida from Netlfix’s Never Have I Ever is a 16-year-old teenager in the show. In reality, he is 29.

3. Bianca Lawson in Pretty Little Liars.

Lawson played the role of 17-year-old Maya St. Germain in the show while being 31 in real life. That’s something!

4. Rachel McAdams in Mean Girls.

Rachel played the iconic character of Regina George, a high school student when she was 25 years old.

5. Ncuti Gatwa in Sex Education.

Gatwa plays the role of 16-year-old Eric in the popular Netflix show Sex Education, and has received great appreciation for his acting skills.

6. Joe Keery in Stranger Things.

The actor, who was 26 at the time of the shooting, played the role of a high schooler in Stranger Things, turning things ‘upside down’.

7. Chad Michael Murray in One Tree Hill.

Everyone’s common crush Chad Michael Murray was 22 when he first started playing the role of a teenager in One Tree Hill.

8. Chace Crawford in Gossip Girl.

Chace played the role of Nate Archibald, a high school junior in Gossip Girl when he was 22 years old.

9. Andrew Garfield in The Amazing Spider-Man.

Andrew was 29 when he took on the responsibility of playing the Marvel superhero, Spider-Man, who is also in high school in the movie.

10. Keiko Agena in Gilmore Girls.

Keiko played an 11-year-younger character, Lane Kim, the 16-year-old friend to Rory Gilmore, the protagonist of the show.

11. Jason Earles in Hannah Montana.

Remember Miley Cyrus’ 16-year-old brother in Hannah Montana? Of course, you do. It was played by Jason Earles who was 29 at the time.

12. Parminder Nagra in Bend It Like Beckham.

The 18-year-old footballer who fights odds to work towards her dream, was played by 27-year-old Parminder.

13. Monique Coleman in High School Musical.

Taylor McKessie, played by Monique Coleman was obviously, well, a high school student in the movie. Monique was 27 when she played the part.

14. Carey Mulligan in The Great Gatsby.

The outstanding Carey Mulligan AKA 17-year-old Daisy Buchanan from The Great Gatsby, was 28 at the time of the shooting.

15. Ross Butler in 13 Reasons Why.

Ross, who was also seen in Riverdale, played the role of a high school student in 13 Reasons Why when he was 27 years old in actual life.

16. Cole Sprouse in Riverdale.

Cole, who played the role of a teenager in Riverdale, was 24 when the popular show first aired.

17. Matt Damon in Good Will Hunting.

Good Will Hunting did Matt a lot of good, and deservingly so. The actor brilliantly played the role of 20-year-old Will Hunting while being 27 at the time.

18. Channing Tatum in She’s the Man.

The teenager Duke Orsino was played by Channing Tatum when he was 25 years old. Didn’t look like it, right?

19. Winona Ryder in Girl, Interrupted.

Winona was 18 years old when the Hollywood classic Girl, Interrupted was shot. She played the complex role of a troubled 18-year-old.

20. Paul Wesley in The Vampire Diaries.

Paul Wesley, who played the role of 18-year-old Stefan Salvatore was roughly 9 years older in real life at the time of the shooting of the iconic show.

21. Shah Rukh Khan in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai.

SRK played Rahul in the movie. Rahul was a college student, and SRK was 33 years old at the time.

22. Hrithik Roshan in Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham.

Hrithik Roshan, a college student in London in the movie, was 27 at the time of the release of this iconic family drama.

23. Tiger Shroff in SOTY 2.

The insanely extravagant schools aren’t the only thing unbelievable about the SOTY franchise, it’s also the characters’ ages. Tiger was 29 he played a school student in the movie.

24. Sidharth Malhotra in SOTY.

As said before, the ages of the characters in the SOTY movies were way different than those of the actors playing them. Sidharth, for instance, played a school student when he was 27.

25. Sonam Kapoor in Raanjhanaa.

Sonam plays the role of Zoya in the movie, and essays her journey from school to college and beyond. Raanjhanaa released in 2013, which means Sonam was 28 years old when she played the character of a 17-18 years old student.