We Have Compiled 10 Actors That Were Cast Perfectly For Their Age And 10 That Were Cast Terribly

We've all probably seen an actor cast in a role that just didn't make sense for them based on their age.

Daphnie

• Published in Film & TV
• February 5, 2023

Actors can be cast technically for any role, at any time of their life. Obviously, sometimes they want to cast someone for the role who is close to the age portrayed in the film, but sometimes this isn't the case.

Whether it's because the person who did it best wasn't close to the age, they had a specific actor in mind for the role, or it just didn't end up being cast with an actor close to the age. Regardless, we've probably seen some of these instances where people have been cast for a role that just didn't make sense.

On the other hand, though, we've also seen actors being cast for a film who was the exact age of the character that they were playing. It's always great when this happens because it really puts the film in perspective and gives you a fantastic visual of the characters, how they'd act, and how they look.

We wanted to give some recognition to these 10 actors who were cast perfectly for their roles, and then 10 actors who were cast terribly for their roles based on the ages that they were versus the ages that they were cast for. Let's dive in and look at what actors we're featuring in today's post.

1. Lachlan Watson

She successfully portrayed “Theo” in Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. At this time, he was 16, as same as Theo.

2. Shirley Henderson

She was 37 when played 14 years old Moaning Myrtle in Harry Porter. So obviously this is a large age gap.

3. Blake Cooper

Blake was 12 when filming as Chuck in The Maze Runner. His character was also supposed to be 12.

4. Ross Butler

When he filmed To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You, he was 28 years old. Yet his character was around 17.

5. Finn Wolfhard

Finn, the Stranger Things star, began acting in Mike for the show when he was just 12 years old. His character was also supposed to be 12.

6. Gloria Stuart

Gloria actually played 100 years old Rose in Titanic, was 86 at the time of filming.

7. Taylor Momsen

She started portraying 14-years-old Jenny in Gossip Girl when she was also 14 years old.

8. Alexa Demie

Alexa, Euphoria star, is supposedly 31 years old, while her character was 18.

9. Kirsten Dunst

She was 18 when filming Bring It On. Her character is a high school senior, and equal to her real age.

10. Jason Earles

Jason Earles, the star of Hannah Montana, was 29 years old when the sitcom first aired. He portrayed Jackson, Miley’s 16-year-old brother.

11. Dylan Sprayberry

He began shooting for Teen Wolf when he was 15 years old. The age of 15 would be the appropriate age for his character, Liam, who was a freshman transfer.

12. Darren Barnet

Darren was 28 when he portrayed high school junior Paxton (so around age 16 or 17).

13. Michelle Trachtenberg

Michelle Trachtenberg, who starred in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, was 14 years old when she was originally presented as Buffy’s younger sister.

14. Timothy Granaderos Jr.

When filming Season 1 of “13 Reasons Why” Timothy Granaderos Jr. was 29 years old. While Montgomery – his character, was around 17 or 18.

15. Molly Ringwald’s

Molly's character was 16 years old in The Breakfast Club, as same as her real age.

16. Harry Shum Jr.

Harry Shum Jr played a sophomore, probably around 16 or 17, when he was really 27 years old.

17. Amandla Stenberg

She played the 12-year-old Rue in The Hunger Games when she was also 12.

18. Trevor Donovan

He was chosen to play Teddy (a high school junior) in Season 2. His character would have been about 17 years old at this time. However, he was 30 years old.

19. Morgan Turner

When Martha was being filmed for Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, Morgan Turner was 17 years old. The character was most likely 16 or 17 years old in the film, given that two years later she was in college.

20. Tanya Reynolds

When the first season of Sex Education was being filmed, Tanya Reynolds was roughly 27 years old. Yet her character Lily was about 16.

These actors definitely are some of the more well-known ones, so we've seen a lot of them in action. Ultimately, even with some of the age gaps, the storyline still was salvageable and made sense to the viewers that were watching.

We love to see actors cast close to the ages, but we understand that this isn't always possible.

Daphnie