Why did casting directors have older actors play characters younger than them?

Actors like Crystal Reed, Troian Bellisario, Cole Sprouse and many others played as teenagers in their shows

By Karishma
October 28, 2019 00:01 +08

There have been many shows in which the actors' cast are older than the characters they've played. These actors played high school students in these shows and you would be surprised if you guessed some of their ages when they played these parts. These stars were technically adults when they played these roles. The reason the casting directors had older actors play these roles was because of labor laws.

The law restricts children working beyond a certain number of hours. This, in turn, restricts the producers to allow young actors to play these parts since they have a limited amount of time. These limited hours also include their rest, education and meals. Well, having older actors cast to play young roles is also quite risky because of the age gap.

Have a look at the list of actors who played the parts of a teenager and made it look believable on screen!

Troian Bellisario

When the show 'Pretty Little Liars' premiered in 2010, the actress was 24-years-old. She played the role of a high school girl in the show.

Paul Wesley

The actor played a 17-year-old in the Vampire Diaries. He was 27 while playing this character in 2009.

Cole Sprouse

Sprouse played the role of a teenager in Riverdale that aired on CW drama. He played the role of Jughead Jones in the series and he was 24-years-old when he made his debut in 2017.

Cory Monteith

In the series Glee, aired in 2009, Monteith played a footballer who turns into singer Finn Hudson. He was 27-years-old while playing this part. Unfortunately, the actor passed away on July 2013 in a drug and alcohol mix accident.

Crystal Reed

The actress was 26-years-old when she played the role of Allison Argent. But she later chose to be killed in the show because of the huge difference in age.

Leighton Meester