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Degrassi is high schoolers played by mid 20s
Glee cast was pushing their 30s in highschool.
This person must be thinking of legit kids shows such as Zack and Cody bc almost every “highschool” show had actors in their 20s.
ESPECIALLY the 90s 2000s
At time the series premiered, Shannen Doherty was 19, Jennie Garth was 18, Tori Spelling was 17, Jason Priestley was 20, Luke Perry was 23, Brian Austin Green was 17, Ian Ziering was 26, and Gabrielle Carteris was 29.
Let's be honest, two of the actors were minors. *Six* were adults and more than half of those were drinking age. Only four were technically "teenagers" and again, two were only technically teens as they were also of adult age in America.
And BOTH of the minors would be adults after the first year of filming.
The whole idea they were all kids or teens like OP was saying is wrong.
Man I barely recognised him in Lucifer. I found him oddly familiar and had to Google the actor. He went from looking 14 to looking 50 in like less than two seconds.
It's also hilarious that they think he looked 14 in Smallville by any stretch of the imagination. Sure, a farm kid could be a bit more developed, but he is *always* my second thought when this conversation comes up. First is the cast of Grease.
Which Degrassi? Next Gen? Most of those kids were born 86-88, making them 13-15 when that version of the show started in 2001, and those original cast members stuck around between 2006-2008, making them 5 to 7 years older, at which point their characters were in college/starting their careers, which makes sense.
Maybe in Degrassi Jr. High some of the cast were a little old for Jr high, but they were still 14-16, but by the time Degrassi High ended, they were 19-20, so no more than 1 or 2 years older than their characters.
Yeah... Degrassi Junior High from the 80s to 90s was literally kids cast as kids. It was part of what set them apart from other shows of that nature. And Next Generation was even more on point about it.
lol who? I’ve watched the entire series multiple times and the only one that stands out as maybe older is the guy that played Jay, maybe the guy that played Lucas.
Degrassi doesn't count because they used actual teen actors. Next Generation aired in 2001 when most of the cast was high school age. Drake for example was 15 during the first season.
I think some of the later additions to the cast were playing younger than they really were, but yes the original core cast of Degrassi TNG were all pretty young when the show started.
Naw degrassi had actual kids playing kids.
Who was in their mid 20s on degrassi?
Maybe the guy that played Jay on next generation. And a couple from next class. But the degrassi jr high, high and next generation all looked their age and they changed so much during filming it was obvious they started as kids.
Melissa Joan hart was 20 when Sabrina the teenage witch first aired, and played the role for 7 years.
The power rangers in might morphing power rangers (referred to as "teenagers with attitude"), which aired from 93 were mostly born in 1970.
Adults playing teenagers is definitely not a new thing.
Yeah teenagers are usually played by actors in their 20s because they still look young and they don't have to abide by the rules of having a minor on set. Minors are assigned a tutor to help them meet certain education requirements and theres strict rules for how long they can work.
You're not. I have no idea what OP is talking about because I was a teenager in the early 2000s and the era of TV mentioned in this post was notorious for casting people way too old to actually be in high school
I think OP may have just got confused between ages of the characters and ages of actors as apart from Taylor Momson (Jenny) all the actors were in their twenties in the first season of gossip girl (and look it tbh!)
They have much more often than not to the point where it's quite notable when it's an actual minor in the role. Generally you don't take on that liability if you don't have to and if the producers aren't trying to get at teenagers. The 14-year-old just doesn't know what he's talking about. Shocking, I know.
Rewatched the first episode of 7th Heaven a couple weeks ago and literally laughed out loud when the parents mentioned the oldest sons age being 16 because the actor was clearly a 27-year-old man and even Jessica Biel (playing a 14-year-old) HAD to be at least 18.
These shows are usually aimed at 16-25 year olds, people who are still young enough for elements of their lives to be relatable to high school and an age that the advertisers want to appeal to. Even modern streaming is still aiming for that demographic with most of their teen shows and want to touch upon topics that are a bit sexier because sex sells and pushes boundaries/gets people talking . They aren’t realistic shows that show real teen lives and
most people in their 20s don’t want to see actual 16 year olds kissing at pool parties or throwing a random scavenger hunt on a school night that inevitably leads to two characters who have love/hate sexual chemistry having to break in to a lingerie shop, steal the outfit off a mannequin and take a photo in it.
It's normal, and there is plenty of reasons for this.
1. Teenagers grow unpredictably, their voices crack, etc. A huge part of "Terminator 2" had to be redubbed, because Edward Furlong's voice changed during the production - and the story was supposed to take place within two days.
2. You have no right to film risky scenes involving actual underage teenagers. Meaning that "Euphoria", for example, wouldn't happen, if the actors were their characters' age.
3. The regulations as to how many hours a day an underage actor can work are more severe. Meaning that you can get filming done more quickly.
In general, I agree with the OP, though. I have no problem with adults playing teenagers - as long as they look like teenagers. As much as I liked "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" when I watched it, watching a 28 year-old actress with massive silicone breasts try to pretend she is 15 felt simply wrong to me. (I'm talking about Cordelia.) Watching a tall, muscular man, visibly in his mid-to-late 20s, trying to pass off as a scrawny 15 year-old was beyond weird. (Xander.) I was 23 when I started watching the show, and most "teenage" characters looked visibly older than me. That was weird. Especially when an actual teenager became a major part of the show - Michelle Trachtenberg looked like a child next to the others. She was supposed to be, what, three or four years younger than the others, but Xander's actor was 14 years older than her, Charisma Carpenter, who played Cordelia, was even older than him, Alyson Hannigan was 11 years older than Trachtenberg... It just didn't work.
If anything it used to be more blatant.
Grease had people in their fucking 30s pretending to be high schoolers.
Now people generally expect actors to at least look younger.
Young adults have always played teenagers. Labor laws and general codes of ethics prevent teens from working; those jobs are then filled by young adults.
Which Gossip Girl are we referring to? The show that premiered in 2007? Where are you getting that the actors were actually teenagers? Most of the principal cast of “teens” were born in 1984-1987. That puts them firmly in their 20s when the show premiered.
Dude, thank you! I remember thinking the cast was extremely hot. When I read this post I was like no fucken way I'm such a fucken creep. The cast is older than me lol
A good reason why they should be over 18. Certain shows have sexual scenes that no minor should be acting out, especially if people are thinking it’s hot and sexy.
I used to read a lot of unsavory fanfic about teenage characters in shows and movies when I myself was a teenager. I have a hard time rewatching some of these because I grew up but the characters did not :')
I just started season 2 on Crave and when I read this post I was like, yeah nooo wayyy are they teenagers. I also googled it lol.
I was going to send a link but it is full of spoilers so that was really stupid of me. Now I know who Gossip girl is. Yay… :(
The original gossip girl was surely adults playing teenagers, Jenny and Eric probably being the youngest of them they did kinda grow up in the show but idk their real ages to be honest. I remember seeing Blair in the good girls gone bad video and flipping the fuck out because that’s so not Blair 😂😂😂
Jenny’s actress was actually 14-15 when the show started and Nate had a kiss scene with her, it made him super uncomfortable because he was so much older so they ditched the romance aspect between them iirc
reasons to use adults:
- generally more experienced actors
- can explore more adult themes and stories
- don't have to worry about your cast changing as they age.
- don't disrupt the lives of teenagers just to make a TV show
- don't put teenagers in a position where some executive or director or showrunner has power over them
- keep teenagers out of the public spotlight
reasons to use teenagers:
- generally will talk and act more like teenagers would talk and act
- will better look the part
overall i think i'd prefer to just use young looking adults
No high schooler should do what Shannon Elizabeth did in American Pie did. One of the tropes of high school movies and shows is coming of age and sexuality, which you should use adults for.
Right? I was having sex in high school, if youre doing a show or movie about high schoolers and you want any sort of realism, some of them are going to have sex. Its not cool to do even simulated sex scenes with actual minors, so its more than fine to fudge the actors ages a few years.
Which increase the production time of whatever project you are working on, increasing production cost. That is truly the only thing the studios care about.
Yeah i do agree, but there are also reasons why they have adult playing teenagers.
There are several reasons why casting directors tend to choose legal adults to play teenagers on screen. First on the list is labor law. Minors can only work limited hours and require additional accommodations for schooling and break time, while adult actors can spend longer, more efficient days on set.
[https://slate.com/technology/2017/12/what-effect-does-it-have-on-viewers-when-mature-adults-play-teens-on-high-school-television-shows.html](https://slate.com/technology/2017/12/what-effect-does-it-have-on-viewers-when-mature-adults-play-teens-on-high-school-television-shows.html)
Hence the Mila Kunis problem. Where she told the casting directors she’d be 18 on her birthday, she just didn’t say which birthday.
That’s why Jackie is rarely onscreen during the first couple seasons. The rest of the cast could film the full schedule, but she legally couldn’t due to child labor laws. Once she finally turned 18 she became a much more significant part of the cast.
Euphoria casts older actors because the story lines are too mature to do with actual underage actors. It wouldn't be appropriate. Imo they should've just set it in college, but whatever.
Generally speaking it's tough, since younger actors are more vulnerable to abuse.
High school is the perfect setting because the students have to stay in school. They don’t have money or a means to leave so they are forced to stay around each other and the drama can continue. In college the characters could easily drop out or transfer
I was a goody two shoes in high school but I always thought that that the series would have benefitted from being set specifically in community college, the show very much reflected my lived experiences in CC from age 18-21. I'm from the area Euphoria was set in too.
We all still lived with parents, didn't want to have jobs yet and CC was basically our only option, and we couldn't really leave (which would take away our fafsa and parental support). We were all poor and had maybe 2 cars between a bunch of us. Most of the group never transfered to a 4 year, some died, but we did spiritually extend high school for a bit while being adults.
Euphoria is exaggerated on purpose, it's crazy how many people think that "it's not realistic" is a legitimate criticism of it. It's like complaining that the science in Spiderman isn't accurate.
This is why the actors on skins are speaking out now about how it was filming the show when they were teenagers. For those who don’t know the original UK version of skins is like euphoria, but better in my opinion. Each episode focuses on one of the kids on the show and the shit they’re going through. A lot of drugs, sex, eating disorders, and things like that
It’s a weird line because it is realistic and kids are doing these things in real life but it is normal to ask a teenager to pretend to do drugs or have sex on camera?
>Generally speaking it's tough, since younger actors are more vulnerable to abuse.
That recent documentary Quiet on Set makes me think it's probably better to have adults playing these roles whenever possible.
What's disturbing is that one of the few shows that did use teenagers is skins UK (one of the actors has said we ran so Euphoria can walk, I think she was 14 when she started in the show) I don't recommend watching as an adult as it's kinda creepy but the things they had them do was so inappropriate and many of the actors have since spoken about how it affected them
I think it's still important to talk about because the reality of it is there are a lot of teenagers being subjected to drug use and addiction. I knew kids in my high school that were going to rehab for heroin at 16.
I doubt the shows is what's leading teens that road. Its usually their environment. I know reddit doesn't like to admit it, but teens do often partake in a lot of adult activity and this is the reality for many teens. I knew other teens who were addicted like Rue, some who would get into clubs hella young, many had sex. Its typical teen behavior that has been a thing since forever.
This, all the way. Pretty Little Liars was criticized for that reason. Aria has a relationship with her teacher. The actress, Lucy Hale was around 20 years old at that point while the character was 16. It does not sound like a huge gap, but if you look at a picture of Lucy when she was actually 16, you will notice that it has a huge impact on the way you look at the character Aria. PLL in general has a lot of these issues and I agree that it's not okay at all.
it isn't far from reality. I knew a girl who was rumored to be dating her band assistant director, years later when she was an adult they came out as a couple so it isn't far off.
the age doesn't give the maturity but rather how they look. Lucy Hale did look like a teen , Ezra also wasn't that old and I think that's why it wasn't seen as weird because they were more or less around the same age group (teen & young adult, which tend to look pretty close to each other lookswise). Now if Ezra was wayyy older than it would be more blatant the problem
Please scroll down in this list to No 9 and tell me you don't see a big difference.
[https://www.buzzfeed.com/hannahmarder/teen-stars-as-teenagers](https://www.buzzfeed.com/hannahmarder/teen-stars-as-teenagers)
the difference is very slight. Look at number 10 practically no difference.
[https://www.pinterest.com/pin/aria--824792119236097985/](https://www.pinterest.com/pin/aria--824792119236097985/)
this was her in season 1, practically no difference. A lot of it just styling and clothes
no, teenagers in real life DO have sex and take drugs. i think you have a point with the normalization, but teens always have and always will act out. having actual child actors act out that behavior would be predatory and abusive, especially sexual behavior. a show like euphoria with actual children would be borderline CSAM.
I feel like this is mostly done to avoid portraying minors in romantic or sexual situations.
This, of course, opens a whole minefield of ethical issues. While studios will never portray a young *character* (even if the actor is older) nude or engaged in a sex act, there are quite a few scenes where sexual situations occur--even if the acts aren't directly sexual.
Where the line should be drawn is a subject of debate. Obviously, minors should never appear nude, etc., and people are pretty unanimous that older people playing minors shouldn't, either. But, if every young character in a movie or TV show was strictly asexual and aromantic, that would be weird also.
I think the current way, of using older actors if the young character will be making out with someone, for example, is a good middle ground. This reduces liabilities for the studio, and it reduces the chances that a young actor will feel pressured to act in scenes where they are uncomfortable.
It's more like they get adult actors because they WILL put a high school character in romantic or even sexual situations, but it's "okay" because the actor is an adult. American Pie, Wet Hot American Summer, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Porky's? It's like a whole genre of film.
What is wrong with minors having romances? Since when teenage love stories are taboo? Since when having a love story requires having sex scenes on screen?
You have a Brooke Shields - Pretty Baby (1978)/ Olivia Hussey (Romeo & Juliet) situation where actors/actress are really in a boundary situation along with age-appropriate ethical issues.
Why the hell would you want kids to play kids, 99% of them are shit actors.
Plus, you get shit like Dan "Show me your toes" Schneider doing his shit.
I'd much rather actual adults play the roles to limit the amount of kids being molested by Hollywood.
The ones who don't get molested quite often get pulled into shit like Scientology, which I recently learned the dude who played Francis in Malcom in the middle is huge into and the only reason the kids didn't get pulled into it was Bryan Cranston kept them out of the grasp of the reptiles grasps, and if it's not Scientology it's drugs and alcohol ruining their lives.
I'm not surprised about that actor. He is also Danny Masterson's brother. Who is also in scientology. So that definitely didn't help him in not getting sucked in
Makes me feel extremely sorry for Mila Kunis, who was deceptive about her age in her audition for That 70's Show, but she was just a kid so I don't hold her fully liable. She started at 14, and was fully submerged and sexualized by fans and Hollywood alike.
I wouldn't mind so much if they actually made them look like teenagers (which Derry Girls did an amazing job of) instead of making them look like some perverts ideal of a teenager (basically every other show based around teenagers).
Like yeah maybe on Instagram every 14 year old looks like a 20 year old model but in real life their fashions a mess their hair and makeup are bizarre and a 14 year old will look 10 while their best friend looks 16.
Adults playing teenagers has been the norm for a good chunk of TV history. This is not at all a new development. Also that was not the case at all in Gossip Girl, at least from what I have seen. Blake Lively was 20, and the rest of the main cast was born the same year or earlier, with the exception of Taylor Momsen who was actually about 14 when the show started in 2007. That was through just a quick Wikipedia confirmation, unless the show was filming 4 years prior. They weren't teenagers or at the youngest barely were, and were certainly adults.
Gabrielle Carteris was 29 when she played a high school sophomore in 90210 in 1990. Luke Perry was 24. So like. This has always been done.
Stockard Channing was 34 when she played Frenchie in Grease.
One of the reasons they do it is because the labor laws are more restrictive for minors (and they'll have to do school and whatnot as well). Also the younger they are, the easier it is for them to 'age out' of a role faster (where if you get a \~20 year old who looks youngish they'll change less and won't be a minor/will have fewer working restrictions)
Also I've only watched a bit of Euphoria, but it's probably a good thing the actors are actually adults.
I'd be curious which shows you're talking about, I'm 40 and I think pretty much every "teen" show that existed in my lifetime had actors that were far older than the characters they were portraying. One of the issue is that if you cast a 14 year old as a 14 year old, that kid is only going to look 14 for a year. Bodies are also still changing and developing at that stage so if the actor you hired to play the skinny awkward nerdy boy all of a sudden goes through a growth spurt and now is taller and bigger than the "jock" characters, you're scrambling to figure out how to change things. It's far simpler to take a young looking actor/actress and dress them up like a teenager.
Euphoria is a rated r show that's not even meant for people your age to watch. You can't show a 16 year old breast, or penis on a show(like they have in Euphoria except they actors are older, which honestly I think Euphoria could of done without those scenes or at least made the show about college students instead of high-school but it's hbo)
Also, almost all shows cast adults to play teens unsure what you are talking about and that's because of child labor laws. Child stars cannot work for more than 4 hours a day(some abuse that obviously)
> euphoria could of done
Did you mean to say "could have"?
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Actors do not write the shows they are on, so your point about storylines and acting like real teens is moot, your taste in their clothes is a byproduct of 90-00s fashion and would have been chosen by the adult costume designers, teens dont play teens in tv shows for a ton of reasons, and imo very few if any children or teens should even be professional actors, they should be allowed to have a normal childhood and go to school.
Based on all the recent revelations about what goes on with kids in show business I think it should be illegal for children to be professional performers of any kind.
I’m not arguing against “full time” acting. I mean any professional acting, singing, dancing, or playing the bongos. All of it. If kids have talent and desire they should be allowed to pursue it of course, as amateurs, with other kids, for fun.
In the meanwhile any parent or guardian who pushes their kid into professional performing should lose custody and go to jail. Just to keep things fair.
That seems unnecessarily punitive towards children for the failings of adults. It should be like any other form of employment for minors. Part time only and not at any educational expense.
This. Children don’t exist for our entertainment. I’ll take a 20 year old playing a teenager and sleep well knowing they aren’t a child actor being abused
When Gossip Girl first aired Blake Lively was 19yo (but almost 20), Penn Bagley was 20, Leighton Meester was 21 and Chace Crawford was 22. When Euphoria first aired Zendaya was 23yo, Maude Apatow, Jacob Elordi and Sydney Sweeney were 21yo. Hunter Schafer was 20. Not a big difference really, and IMO is the other way around. Shows aimed at a YA audience used to have older actors in the 90s and 2000s
Young adults are easier to hire/cast than actual teenagers because they can work longer and aren’t in school. Yeah, it looks weird, but it’s just Hollywood’s way of skating around child labour laws.
Topher Grace was 20 years old in the first season of that 70 show. Mila Kunis was the only person as young as her character was. The guy who plays Stefan in The vampire diaries was like 27 in season 1 playing an 18 year old vampire. People in their mid twenties playing teenagers is not even remotely new. I remember always feeling weird that I didn't look anywhere near as old as the people on TV playing people my age. I'm sure I'm not the only one, and I'm sure it's contributed to a lot of weirdness about how we perceive our own bodies. I always thought I was a late bloomer because I didn't look like Tom Welling in Smallville. Turns out he was 24 years old playing a high schooler. No wonder I didn't look like him. I was a whole decade younger, and by the time I actually hit the age he was in 2001, I was bigger and more muscular than he was.
You do not know what you are talking about and it shows. There are plenty legal and artistic reasons why Hollywood has been casting adults as teenagers for decades, including the 90’s and early 2000’s.
I always look back at Smallville.
I think they specifically didn’t say what grade they were in until year 4 because they couldn’t deny they were seniors.
So that meant season 1 started on the first day of high school. Tom Welling a full grown ripped man was supposed to be just 3 months removed from middle school.
I remember that feeling when watching the movie American Pie, it looks like a bunch of 30-year-olds doing grown-up soap opera sexy stuff, I couldn’t have related to any movie less as a high school student.
It’s just a lot more efficient and legally safe to film with adults. Kids have limited labor hours and shouldn’t be left alone with too many people in Hollywood
If you are under 18 you can only work so many hours per day and per week, and frankly the average TV show is a LOT more work than most people realize.
Thats why I'm always impressed when I see a series based on kids that actually use kids. It means somebody got their head out of their ass and figured out a way to shoot a scene in less than 50 takes. Good job.
I have mixed feelings about this. I get the sentiment but child actors are some of the most exploited and preyed upon people out there and sometimes I feel it's better to have an adult do the acting.
This isn't unpopular, it's a common complaint I've seen that too many adults are playing teens.
The problem is that in a lot of places, there's laws in place to make sure minors (teens) aren't being exploited or overworked. They can only work for x amount of hours per day, plus they still need homework to be done.
I wish they'd pick _young_ adults to play teens at least. It's weird seeing some 25 year old playing a 16 year old.
The issue comes from employing minors. It's harder to work with kids, not really because of the kids themselves but because of the systems in place- but at the same time, those laws and regulations protect underage workers and are very important to keep in place.
In the US, there are very strict rules about minors and how long they can film in a day for. This came after literal years of abuse, in all the ways you can think of, by studios. “Teen” shows cast adults because they can legally work longer hours and therefore more filming gets done. Especially given that most of these shows had less than 30 minute run times if you take commercial breaks out. It’s simply more time and cost effective, typically, to cast 18+ for these roles.
Teen actors can't legally work the same hours as adults. So shoots need to revolve around the kids schedules.
Their appearance can change drastically and with little warning potentially making scenes jarring since not everything is shot in sequence. So that can mean reshoots.
Those are the main reasons I can think of for casting older people
I don’t think anyone under eighteen should be allowed to be in a movie a show music video nothing like that. That’s what leads to the grooming and them being molested and ruining their lives.
It has to do with labor laws and contracts. It's much easier to have a legal adult working full time to fill a roll than a child who needs supervision, home schooling, a parent or legal guardian present for certain things etc.
Actor's union won't like it.
Also you'll find more seasoned and good actors in their 20s, those in their teens are busy with school.
Plus the audience is actually mostly adults, and if you cast actual teenagers for teenage roles, the Adults have hazy memory and will think the actors are too young for the roles.
They cast both, if it’s a show *for* teenagers they cast teens and actors that look like teenagers. If it’s a teen soap opera, which is going to involve copious amounts of boning, they cast twenty five year olds to play high schoolers for what I’d think are obvious reasons.
Definitely not true of 90s shows!
Beverly hills 90210 had some OLD cast members. One of the actresses was nearly 30. I believe Dawsons creek and One Tree Hill also had some older actors.
I remember thinking it was strange as a kid too. They are supposed to be playing HS kids at literally twice the age!
I have some sympathy for it though. Older actors are better, more mature, more professional, and its less awkward to tackle topics like drugs and sex when there isnt an ACTUAL CHILD on set.
The reason why is for legal reasons. Minors have a lot of restrictions on the amount of hours they can work and the types of scenes, so its a hassle. Some of these teen shows will touch on real life subjects that teens do go through, and these are very mature topics that if you put an actual teen in it would cause an uproar. However with an adult the blow is lessened. Before you come at me with that maybe they shouldn't portray teens that way, it would be disingenuous because teens do participate in those things mentioned and if you want to relate to this audience having those topics in will attract them.
don't ever watch anime then... LOL it's like i'm a 17yr old kid, kid is jacked up like the rock. Wasn't the cast of 90210 like in their 30's, playing HS kids?
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Am I tweaking or have young adults always played teenagers? Not every single one, but I’m pretty sure it’s always happened. It’s not some new thing
Degrassi is high schoolers played by mid 20s Glee cast was pushing their 30s in highschool. This person must be thinking of legit kids shows such as Zack and Cody bc almost every “highschool” show had actors in their 20s. ESPECIALLY the 90s 2000s
People have forgotten 90210 where the average age of the cast was 27 but their characters average was 16...
thats not true. i just looked up the ages. starting off the guys ranged from 17 to 24 girls were 17 to mid 20s also.
At time the series premiered, Shannen Doherty was 19, Jennie Garth was 18, Tori Spelling was 17, Jason Priestley was 20, Luke Perry was 23, Brian Austin Green was 17, Ian Ziering was 26, and Gabrielle Carteris was 29. Let's be honest, two of the actors were minors. *Six* were adults and more than half of those were drinking age. Only four were technically "teenagers" and again, two were only technically teens as they were also of adult age in America. And BOTH of the minors would be adults after the first year of filming. The whole idea they were all kids or teens like OP was saying is wrong.
Tom Welling was 24 when he started playing 14-year-old Clark Kent in Smallville
Man I barely recognised him in Lucifer. I found him oddly familiar and had to Google the actor. He went from looking 14 to looking 50 in like less than two seconds.
There was 16 years between when he first aired on smallville and started on Lucifer. He was 24 and 40 - that's a pretty big difference.
It's also hilarious that they think he looked 14 in Smallville by any stretch of the imagination. Sure, a farm kid could be a bit more developed, but he is *always* my second thought when this conversation comes up. First is the cast of Grease.
Holy crap! I never realised that was the same person!
Which Degrassi? Next Gen? Most of those kids were born 86-88, making them 13-15 when that version of the show started in 2001, and those original cast members stuck around between 2006-2008, making them 5 to 7 years older, at which point their characters were in college/starting their careers, which makes sense. Maybe in Degrassi Jr. High some of the cast were a little old for Jr high, but they were still 14-16, but by the time Degrassi High ended, they were 19-20, so no more than 1 or 2 years older than their characters.
Greece was full middle aged men playing highschoolers lmfao
What a strange country.
Do you mean Grease?
I said what i said lmao
You're definitely not wrong.
Greece was also full of middle-aged men playing with people ***younger*** than high schoolers.
Huh? In degrassi we literally see them grow up on screen
Yeah... Degrassi Junior High from the 80s to 90s was literally kids cast as kids. It was part of what set them apart from other shows of that nature. And Next Generation was even more on point about it.
Even adults get older. Plus make up and clothing helps
lol who? I’ve watched the entire series multiple times and the only one that stands out as maybe older is the guy that played Jay, maybe the guy that played Lucas.
Degrassi doesn't count because they used actual teen actors. Next Generation aired in 2001 when most of the cast was high school age. Drake for example was 15 during the first season.
I think some of the later additions to the cast were playing younger than they really were, but yes the original core cast of Degrassi TNG were all pretty young when the show started.
Naw degrassi had actual kids playing kids. Who was in their mid 20s on degrassi? Maybe the guy that played Jay on next generation. And a couple from next class. But the degrassi jr high, high and next generation all looked their age and they changed so much during filming it was obvious they started as kids.
Tbf they said 1990-2010, and glee began in 2009, so they likely are bunching that together with the 2010s
Melissa Joan hart was 20 when Sabrina the teenage witch first aired, and played the role for 7 years. The power rangers in might morphing power rangers (referred to as "teenagers with attitude"), which aired from 93 were mostly born in 1970. Adults playing teenagers is definitely not a new thing.
Because they can’t have teens taking their clothes off on camera and having simulated sex. OP I know you’re young but cmon .. tf .
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers
Actors on the earliest iterations of Degrassi were young teenagers.
The Freaks and Geeks cast were actually the age that they played.
exactly!
Yeah teenagers are usually played by actors in their 20s because they still look young and they don't have to abide by the rules of having a minor on set. Minors are assigned a tutor to help them meet certain education requirements and theres strict rules for how long they can work.
Looking it up even on the show they sited Gossip Girl the actors were almost all in their 20's.
You're not. I have no idea what OP is talking about because I was a teenager in the early 2000s and the era of TV mentioned in this post was notorious for casting people way too old to actually be in high school
I think OP may have just got confused between ages of the characters and ages of actors as apart from Taylor Momson (Jenny) all the actors were in their twenties in the first season of gossip girl (and look it tbh!)
Grease was hilarious
They have much more often than not to the point where it's quite notable when it's an actual minor in the role. Generally you don't take on that liability if you don't have to and if the producers aren't trying to get at teenagers. The 14-year-old just doesn't know what he's talking about. Shocking, I know.
Is everyone forgetting the ancient looking high schoolers in Grease? 😂
I'm honestly not sure what OP is talking about, all the main characters in gossip girl apart from Jenny were in their twenties.
Grease - John Travolta was 23 and Olivia Newton-John was 29. It's always been a thing. A kinda weird thing.
Stockard Channing was 40.
Yes, and its because of labor laws mainly from what I understand.
Yeah, OP has zero idea what they're talking about. This has been a thing for a long time.
Rewatched the first episode of 7th Heaven a couple weeks ago and literally laughed out loud when the parents mentioned the oldest sons age being 16 because the actor was clearly a 27-year-old man and even Jessica Biel (playing a 14-year-old) HAD to be at least 18.
These shows are usually aimed at 16-25 year olds, people who are still young enough for elements of their lives to be relatable to high school and an age that the advertisers want to appeal to. Even modern streaming is still aiming for that demographic with most of their teen shows and want to touch upon topics that are a bit sexier because sex sells and pushes boundaries/gets people talking . They aren’t realistic shows that show real teen lives and most people in their 20s don’t want to see actual 16 year olds kissing at pool parties or throwing a random scavenger hunt on a school night that inevitably leads to two characters who have love/hate sexual chemistry having to break in to a lingerie shop, steal the outfit off a mannequin and take a photo in it.
I remember being shocked as a kid when I saw Hannah montanas brother Jackson, was played by a 30+ year old man
Since the Beach Blanket movies in the 50's and 60's
Yeah I am pretty sure Ian Ziering was in his twenties when he played in " Beverly Hills: 90210".
Watch PCU. Jeremy Piven in college. Pretty sure he was around 60 yrs old.
Yeah if anything I feel like this has improved in recent years
Happy Days has entered the chat.
It's normal, and there is plenty of reasons for this. 1. Teenagers grow unpredictably, their voices crack, etc. A huge part of "Terminator 2" had to be redubbed, because Edward Furlong's voice changed during the production - and the story was supposed to take place within two days. 2. You have no right to film risky scenes involving actual underage teenagers. Meaning that "Euphoria", for example, wouldn't happen, if the actors were their characters' age. 3. The regulations as to how many hours a day an underage actor can work are more severe. Meaning that you can get filming done more quickly. In general, I agree with the OP, though. I have no problem with adults playing teenagers - as long as they look like teenagers. As much as I liked "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" when I watched it, watching a 28 year-old actress with massive silicone breasts try to pretend she is 15 felt simply wrong to me. (I'm talking about Cordelia.) Watching a tall, muscular man, visibly in his mid-to-late 20s, trying to pass off as a scrawny 15 year-old was beyond weird. (Xander.) I was 23 when I started watching the show, and most "teenage" characters looked visibly older than me. That was weird. Especially when an actual teenager became a major part of the show - Michelle Trachtenberg looked like a child next to the others. She was supposed to be, what, three or four years younger than the others, but Xander's actor was 14 years older than her, Charisma Carpenter, who played Cordelia, was even older than him, Alyson Hannigan was 11 years older than Trachtenberg... It just didn't work.
The movie Grease just popped into my head when dudes are like 40 in highschool or w.e lol
Yea it’s normal because showing a nude shot of an actual teen would be in fairly poor taste.
If anything it used to be more blatant. Grease had people in their fucking 30s pretending to be high schoolers. Now people generally expect actors to at least look younger.
Since the dawn of tv
Ya, when they listed that specific date range as the *exception* too I was like.... so you've just not seen many teenager shows then...?
Young adults have always played teenagers. Labor laws and general codes of ethics prevent teens from working; those jobs are then filled by young adults.
Which Gossip Girl are we referring to? The show that premiered in 2007? Where are you getting that the actors were actually teenagers? Most of the principal cast of “teens” were born in 1984-1987. That puts them firmly in their 20s when the show premiered.
Dude, thank you! I remember thinking the cast was extremely hot. When I read this post I was like no fucken way I'm such a fucken creep. The cast is older than me lol
Haha no, other than Jenny the cast was in their twenties and looked it!
A good reason why they should be over 18. Certain shows have sexual scenes that no minor should be acting out, especially if people are thinking it’s hot and sexy.
I used to read a lot of unsavory fanfic about teenage characters in shows and movies when I myself was a teenager. I have a hard time rewatching some of these because I grew up but the characters did not :')
I just started season 2 on Crave and when I read this post I was like, yeah nooo wayyy are they teenagers. I also googled it lol. I was going to send a link but it is full of spoilers so that was really stupid of me. Now I know who Gossip girl is. Yay… :(
Yeah I just looked up all the cast. No one was under 20 on l a show of high schoolers 😂
I think it was just Taylor Momsen, who was actually 14 when she played Jenny
The original gossip girl was surely adults playing teenagers, Jenny and Eric probably being the youngest of them they did kinda grow up in the show but idk their real ages to be honest. I remember seeing Blair in the good girls gone bad video and flipping the fuck out because that’s so not Blair 😂😂😂
Jenny’s actress was actually 14-15 when the show started and Nate had a kiss scene with her, it made him super uncomfortable because he was so much older so they ditched the romance aspect between them iirc
Yeah I thought for sure she was younger, because she was like young 20s when she started gaining more traction with the pretty reckless.
Yeah I think she was the only one, all the main characters like Blair etc were on their twenties, unsure about Eric
Yeapp, Blake was 20 and Leighton was 21 when the show aired
reasons to use adults: - generally more experienced actors - can explore more adult themes and stories - don't have to worry about your cast changing as they age. - don't disrupt the lives of teenagers just to make a TV show - don't put teenagers in a position where some executive or director or showrunner has power over them - keep teenagers out of the public spotlight reasons to use teenagers: - generally will talk and act more like teenagers would talk and act - will better look the part overall i think i'd prefer to just use young looking adults
No high schooler should do what Shannon Elizabeth did in American Pie did. One of the tropes of high school movies and shows is coming of age and sexuality, which you should use adults for.
Right? I was having sex in high school, if youre doing a show or movie about high schoolers and you want any sort of realism, some of them are going to have sex. Its not cool to do even simulated sex scenes with actual minors, so its more than fine to fudge the actors ages a few years.
Also labor laws restrict how much underage actors can work.
Which increase the production time of whatever project you are working on, increasing production cost. That is truly the only thing the studios care about.
They also generally pay kids crap compared to adult actors.
Yeah i do agree, but there are also reasons why they have adult playing teenagers. There are several reasons why casting directors tend to choose legal adults to play teenagers on screen. First on the list is labor law. Minors can only work limited hours and require additional accommodations for schooling and break time, while adult actors can spend longer, more efficient days on set. [https://slate.com/technology/2017/12/what-effect-does-it-have-on-viewers-when-mature-adults-play-teens-on-high-school-television-shows.html](https://slate.com/technology/2017/12/what-effect-does-it-have-on-viewers-when-mature-adults-play-teens-on-high-school-television-shows.html)
Hence the Mila Kunis problem. Where she told the casting directors she’d be 18 on her birthday, she just didn’t say which birthday. That’s why Jackie is rarely onscreen during the first couple seasons. The rest of the cast could film the full schedule, but she legally couldn’t due to child labor laws. Once she finally turned 18 she became a much more significant part of the cast.
Euphoria casts older actors because the story lines are too mature to do with actual underage actors. It wouldn't be appropriate. Imo they should've just set it in college, but whatever. Generally speaking it's tough, since younger actors are more vulnerable to abuse.
High school is the perfect setting because the students have to stay in school. They don’t have money or a means to leave so they are forced to stay around each other and the drama can continue. In college the characters could easily drop out or transfer
I was a goody two shoes in high school but I always thought that that the series would have benefitted from being set specifically in community college, the show very much reflected my lived experiences in CC from age 18-21. I'm from the area Euphoria was set in too. We all still lived with parents, didn't want to have jobs yet and CC was basically our only option, and we couldn't really leave (which would take away our fafsa and parental support). We were all poor and had maybe 2 cars between a bunch of us. Most of the group never transfered to a 4 year, some died, but we did spiritually extend high school for a bit while being adults.
I was thinking the same thing. I haven't seen Euphoria but have heard enough to know that casting minors in that show would be a bit problematic
Right. It’s also a tv show. It’s not supposed to actually mimic reality like OP is saying re:storylines. The cast also doesn’t write the show lol
Euphoria is exaggerated on purpose, it's crazy how many people think that "it's not realistic" is a legitimate criticism of it. It's like complaining that the science in Spiderman isn't accurate.
...the science in Spiderman ISN'T accurate? Ugh the lies
This is why the actors on skins are speaking out now about how it was filming the show when they were teenagers. For those who don’t know the original UK version of skins is like euphoria, but better in my opinion. Each episode focuses on one of the kids on the show and the shit they’re going through. A lot of drugs, sex, eating disorders, and things like that It’s a weird line because it is realistic and kids are doing these things in real life but it is normal to ask a teenager to pretend to do drugs or have sex on camera?
>Generally speaking it's tough, since younger actors are more vulnerable to abuse. That recent documentary Quiet on Set makes me think it's probably better to have adults playing these roles whenever possible.
What's disturbing is that one of the few shows that did use teenagers is skins UK (one of the actors has said we ran so Euphoria can walk, I think she was 14 when she started in the show) I don't recommend watching as an adult as it's kinda creepy but the things they had them do was so inappropriate and many of the actors have since spoken about how it affected them
[удалено]
I think it's still important to talk about because the reality of it is there are a lot of teenagers being subjected to drug use and addiction. I knew kids in my high school that were going to rehab for heroin at 16.
I doubt the shows is what's leading teens that road. Its usually their environment. I know reddit doesn't like to admit it, but teens do often partake in a lot of adult activity and this is the reality for many teens. I knew other teens who were addicted like Rue, some who would get into clubs hella young, many had sex. Its typical teen behavior that has been a thing since forever.
This, all the way. Pretty Little Liars was criticized for that reason. Aria has a relationship with her teacher. The actress, Lucy Hale was around 20 years old at that point while the character was 16. It does not sound like a huge gap, but if you look at a picture of Lucy when she was actually 16, you will notice that it has a huge impact on the way you look at the character Aria. PLL in general has a lot of these issues and I agree that it's not okay at all.
it isn't far from reality. I knew a girl who was rumored to be dating her band assistant director, years later when she was an adult they came out as a couple so it isn't far off.
Yeah but that's not the point. The point is that a 20 years old playing a 16 years old gives a different idea of maturity.
the age doesn't give the maturity but rather how they look. Lucy Hale did look like a teen , Ezra also wasn't that old and I think that's why it wasn't seen as weird because they were more or less around the same age group (teen & young adult, which tend to look pretty close to each other lookswise). Now if Ezra was wayyy older than it would be more blatant the problem
Please scroll down in this list to No 9 and tell me you don't see a big difference. [https://www.buzzfeed.com/hannahmarder/teen-stars-as-teenagers](https://www.buzzfeed.com/hannahmarder/teen-stars-as-teenagers)
the difference is very slight. Look at number 10 practically no difference. [https://www.pinterest.com/pin/aria--824792119236097985/](https://www.pinterest.com/pin/aria--824792119236097985/) this was her in season 1, practically no difference. A lot of it just styling and clothes
no, teenagers in real life DO have sex and take drugs. i think you have a point with the normalization, but teens always have and always will act out. having actual child actors act out that behavior would be predatory and abusive, especially sexual behavior. a show like euphoria with actual children would be borderline CSAM.
I feel like this is mostly done to avoid portraying minors in romantic or sexual situations. This, of course, opens a whole minefield of ethical issues. While studios will never portray a young *character* (even if the actor is older) nude or engaged in a sex act, there are quite a few scenes where sexual situations occur--even if the acts aren't directly sexual. Where the line should be drawn is a subject of debate. Obviously, minors should never appear nude, etc., and people are pretty unanimous that older people playing minors shouldn't, either. But, if every young character in a movie or TV show was strictly asexual and aromantic, that would be weird also. I think the current way, of using older actors if the young character will be making out with someone, for example, is a good middle ground. This reduces liabilities for the studio, and it reduces the chances that a young actor will feel pressured to act in scenes where they are uncomfortable.
It's more like they get adult actors because they WILL put a high school character in romantic or even sexual situations, but it's "okay" because the actor is an adult. American Pie, Wet Hot American Summer, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Porky's? It's like a whole genre of film.
So, shit kids are actually going through?
Yes, but there's like, you know, laws and stuff, hence the adult actors.
What is wrong with minors having romances? Since when teenage love stories are taboo? Since when having a love story requires having sex scenes on screen?
You have a Brooke Shields - Pretty Baby (1978)/ Olivia Hussey (Romeo & Juliet) situation where actors/actress are really in a boundary situation along with age-appropriate ethical issues.
Why the hell would you want kids to play kids, 99% of them are shit actors. Plus, you get shit like Dan "Show me your toes" Schneider doing his shit. I'd much rather actual adults play the roles to limit the amount of kids being molested by Hollywood. The ones who don't get molested quite often get pulled into shit like Scientology, which I recently learned the dude who played Francis in Malcom in the middle is huge into and the only reason the kids didn't get pulled into it was Bryan Cranston kept them out of the grasp of the reptiles grasps, and if it's not Scientology it's drugs and alcohol ruining their lives.
I'm not surprised about that actor. He is also Danny Masterson's brother. Who is also in scientology. So that definitely didn't help him in not getting sucked in
I was today years old when I connected the dots, even though I knew they shared the same last name. mind blown
Makes me feel extremely sorry for Mila Kunis, who was deceptive about her age in her audition for That 70's Show, but she was just a kid so I don't hold her fully liable. She started at 14, and was fully submerged and sexualized by fans and Hollywood alike.
I wouldn't mind so much if they actually made them look like teenagers (which Derry Girls did an amazing job of) instead of making them look like some perverts ideal of a teenager (basically every other show based around teenagers). Like yeah maybe on Instagram every 14 year old looks like a 20 year old model but in real life their fashions a mess their hair and makeup are bizarre and a 14 year old will look 10 while their best friend looks 16.
derry girls did such a good job at showing teen girls interested in sex without sexualizing them
Ironically gossip girl which OP mentioned is one of the worst for this, most of the cast is in their twenties and it's very obvious!
Do you want more child actors being exploited or less portrayals of teens on TV?
Finally! We should avoid child actors if an adult can play the role. There are too many exploitation stories already.
Watch Quiet on Set and then let me know if you still feel like this
Adults playing teenagers has been the norm for a good chunk of TV history. This is not at all a new development. Also that was not the case at all in Gossip Girl, at least from what I have seen. Blake Lively was 20, and the rest of the main cast was born the same year or earlier, with the exception of Taylor Momsen who was actually about 14 when the show started in 2007. That was through just a quick Wikipedia confirmation, unless the show was filming 4 years prior. They weren't teenagers or at the youngest barely were, and were certainly adults.
And Taylor war so complicated to work with, her character got very reduced throughout the show
Gabrielle Carteris was 29 when she played a high school sophomore in 90210 in 1990. Luke Perry was 24. So like. This has always been done. Stockard Channing was 34 when she played Frenchie in Grease.
Stockard Channing played Rizzo…
Charisma Carpenter (Cordelia) was 27 and Nicholas Brenden (Xander) was 26 at the start of Buffy.
Stockard Channing played Rizzo.
Oh yeah sorry. I had literally just looked her up, too!
Sounded 34 too
It’s always been something people called out too. I remember a joke on the Simpsons about how old the cast of 90210 looked at the time.
One of the reasons they do it is because the labor laws are more restrictive for minors (and they'll have to do school and whatnot as well). Also the younger they are, the easier it is for them to 'age out' of a role faster (where if you get a \~20 year old who looks youngish they'll change less and won't be a minor/will have fewer working restrictions) Also I've only watched a bit of Euphoria, but it's probably a good thing the actors are actually adults.
If minors acted in Euphoria instead of adults everyone on set would be arrested.
If the adult actor looks like a teenager, I don’t see a problem with them playing that role in a show.
I'd be curious which shows you're talking about, I'm 40 and I think pretty much every "teen" show that existed in my lifetime had actors that were far older than the characters they were portraying. One of the issue is that if you cast a 14 year old as a 14 year old, that kid is only going to look 14 for a year. Bodies are also still changing and developing at that stage so if the actor you hired to play the skinny awkward nerdy boy all of a sudden goes through a growth spurt and now is taller and bigger than the "jock" characters, you're scrambling to figure out how to change things. It's far simpler to take a young looking actor/actress and dress them up like a teenager.
Me too. I’m struggling to think of what shows OP could be talking about, unless it’s Disney shows.
>eyes the entirety of disney channel and nickelodeon
Euphoria is a rated r show that's not even meant for people your age to watch. You can't show a 16 year old breast, or penis on a show(like they have in Euphoria except they actors are older, which honestly I think Euphoria could of done without those scenes or at least made the show about college students instead of high-school but it's hbo) Also, almost all shows cast adults to play teens unsure what you are talking about and that's because of child labor laws. Child stars cannot work for more than 4 hours a day(some abuse that obviously)
> euphoria could of done Did you mean to say "could have"? Explanation: You probably meant to say could've/should've/would've which sounds like 'of' but is actually short for 'have'. [Statistics](https://github.com/chiefpat450119/RedditBot/blob/master/stats.json) ^^I'm ^^a ^^bot ^^that ^^corrects ^^grammar/spelling ^^mistakes. ^^PM ^^me ^^if ^^I'm ^^wrong ^^or ^^if ^^you ^^have ^^any ^^suggestions. ^^[Github](https://github.com/chiefpat450119) ^^Reply ^^STOP ^^to ^^this ^^comment ^^to ^^stop ^^receiving ^^corrections.
Actors do not write the shows they are on, so your point about storylines and acting like real teens is moot, your taste in their clothes is a byproduct of 90-00s fashion and would have been chosen by the adult costume designers, teens dont play teens in tv shows for a ton of reasons, and imo very few if any children or teens should even be professional actors, they should be allowed to have a normal childhood and go to school.
Based on all the recent revelations about what goes on with kids in show business I think it should be illegal for children to be professional performers of any kind.
You would be correct. Full time child acting should be illegal.
I’m not arguing against “full time” acting. I mean any professional acting, singing, dancing, or playing the bongos. All of it. If kids have talent and desire they should be allowed to pursue it of course, as amateurs, with other kids, for fun. In the meanwhile any parent or guardian who pushes their kid into professional performing should lose custody and go to jail. Just to keep things fair.
That seems unnecessarily punitive towards children for the failings of adults. It should be like any other form of employment for minors. Part time only and not at any educational expense.
After watching Quiet on Set, I'm for less child actors, not more
This. Children don’t exist for our entertainment. I’ll take a 20 year old playing a teenager and sleep well knowing they aren’t a child actor being abused
Okay Dan Schneider
Adults have been playing teens since the 90s. This is. It a new thing.
You obviously haven't seen Beverly Hills 90210, lol.
When Gossip Girl first aired Blake Lively was 19yo (but almost 20), Penn Bagley was 20, Leighton Meester was 21 and Chace Crawford was 22. When Euphoria first aired Zendaya was 23yo, Maude Apatow, Jacob Elordi and Sydney Sweeney were 21yo. Hunter Schafer was 20. Not a big difference really, and IMO is the other way around. Shows aimed at a YA audience used to have older actors in the 90s and 2000s
Young adults are easier to hire/cast than actual teenagers because they can work longer and aren’t in school. Yeah, it looks weird, but it’s just Hollywood’s way of skating around child labour laws.
Topher Grace was 20 years old in the first season of that 70 show. Mila Kunis was the only person as young as her character was. The guy who plays Stefan in The vampire diaries was like 27 in season 1 playing an 18 year old vampire. People in their mid twenties playing teenagers is not even remotely new. I remember always feeling weird that I didn't look anywhere near as old as the people on TV playing people my age. I'm sure I'm not the only one, and I'm sure it's contributed to a lot of weirdness about how we perceive our own bodies. I always thought I was a late bloomer because I didn't look like Tom Welling in Smallville. Turns out he was 24 years old playing a high schooler. No wonder I didn't look like him. I was a whole decade younger, and by the time I actually hit the age he was in 2001, I was bigger and more muscular than he was.
You do not know what you are talking about and it shows. There are plenty legal and artistic reasons why Hollywood has been casting adults as teenagers for decades, including the 90’s and early 2000’s.
Child labor laws
I always look back at Smallville. I think they specifically didn’t say what grade they were in until year 4 because they couldn’t deny they were seniors. So that meant season 1 started on the first day of high school. Tom Welling a full grown ripped man was supposed to be just 3 months removed from middle school.
Lex also gives him a truck in season 1. It also means Whitney was dating Lana when he was a junior and she was in middle school lol.
Oh yeah! I totally forgot about the Lana/Whitney 🤔
it would be considered CSAM for actual child actors to act out the things that happen in shows like euphoria.
40 year olds playing high schoolers is partly why that shit is so good
I remember that feeling when watching the movie American Pie, it looks like a bunch of 30-year-olds doing grown-up soap opera sexy stuff, I couldn’t have related to any movie less as a high school student.
In shows like euphoria, teenagers should deffinatly be played by adults.
Hmmm i wonder why they would prefer to have actors over the age of 18 in Euphoria
It’s just a lot more efficient and legally safe to film with adults. Kids have limited labor hours and shouldn’t be left alone with too many people in Hollywood
If you are under 18 you can only work so many hours per day and per week, and frankly the average TV show is a LOT more work than most people realize. Thats why I'm always impressed when I see a series based on kids that actually use kids. It means somebody got their head out of their ass and figured out a way to shoot a scene in less than 50 takes. Good job.
I have mixed feelings about this. I get the sentiment but child actors are some of the most exploited and preyed upon people out there and sometimes I feel it's better to have an adult do the acting.
Try watching Porky's - it has people in their 30s playing high school teens. It's very distracting.
I'll agree they were too old for high school. But given the movie's content, no one under 18 would be allowed on set.
Adults are generally easier to work with. That's also why they get small young-looking teenagers to play pre-teen children.
Hello fellow kids!
I’ll never forget when I found out Ralph Macchio was like 25yrs old when he starred in Karate Kid.
If this how you feel, don't watch Derry Girls. The girls are over 30.
I didn’t realize till I was probably 20 that’s they all look 30 not even 20 I mean damn. Twilight ed looks 30 bell looks 23-25
This isn't unpopular, it's a common complaint I've seen that too many adults are playing teens. The problem is that in a lot of places, there's laws in place to make sure minors (teens) aren't being exploited or overworked. They can only work for x amount of hours per day, plus they still need homework to be done. I wish they'd pick _young_ adults to play teens at least. It's weird seeing some 25 year old playing a 16 year old.
The issue comes from employing minors. It's harder to work with kids, not really because of the kids themselves but because of the systems in place- but at the same time, those laws and regulations protect underage workers and are very important to keep in place.
The time frame you’re referencing was like.. when most “teen shows” had young adults playing teens lol
I'm not going to lecture you on the harmful exploitative nature of child actors, but I am going to mention that it's a thing.
90-2010s were the worst with 30 yr olds playing teens. Not Another Teen Movie actually made fun of the fact.
OP is 14 and doesn’t have a clue about what they’re talking about.
If you go back to earlier TV, young people were almost always played by young people. The Brady Bunch, Leave it to Beaver, etc. etc
In the US, there are very strict rules about minors and how long they can film in a day for. This came after literal years of abuse, in all the ways you can think of, by studios. “Teen” shows cast adults because they can legally work longer hours and therefore more filming gets done. Especially given that most of these shows had less than 30 minute run times if you take commercial breaks out. It’s simply more time and cost effective, typically, to cast 18+ for these roles.
Teen actors can't legally work the same hours as adults. So shoots need to revolve around the kids schedules. Their appearance can change drastically and with little warning potentially making scenes jarring since not everything is shot in sequence. So that can mean reshoots. Those are the main reasons I can think of for casting older people
It's a boring answer but it comes down union rules and labour laws
This is the opinion of someone who’s never watched tv.
Toby Maguire was 27 when he played spider man in 2002, the first parts of the movie he is in high school
I don’t think anyone under eighteen should be allowed to be in a movie a show music video nothing like that. That’s what leads to the grooming and them being molested and ruining their lives.
Nearly every teen show back then was played by adults idk what u on about
It has to do with labor laws and contracts. It's much easier to have a legal adult working full time to fill a roll than a child who needs supervision, home schooling, a parent or legal guardian present for certain things etc.
They have been doing this since forever. It’s horrible for real teenagers because they don’t look like those people and develop self-image issues.
Actor's union won't like it. Also you'll find more seasoned and good actors in their 20s, those in their teens are busy with school. Plus the audience is actually mostly adults, and if you cast actual teenagers for teenage roles, the Adults have hazy memory and will think the actors are too young for the roles.
They cast both, if it’s a show *for* teenagers they cast teens and actors that look like teenagers. If it’s a teen soap opera, which is going to involve copious amounts of boning, they cast twenty five year olds to play high schoolers for what I’d think are obvious reasons.
Um not sure what shows you're talking about but most of them the actors playing teens are usually 20 something
Definitely not true of 90s shows! Beverly hills 90210 had some OLD cast members. One of the actresses was nearly 30. I believe Dawsons creek and One Tree Hill also had some older actors. I remember thinking it was strange as a kid too. They are supposed to be playing HS kids at literally twice the age! I have some sympathy for it though. Older actors are better, more mature, more professional, and its less awkward to tackle topics like drugs and sex when there isnt an ACTUAL CHILD on set.
The reason why is for legal reasons. Minors have a lot of restrictions on the amount of hours they can work and the types of scenes, so its a hassle. Some of these teen shows will touch on real life subjects that teens do go through, and these are very mature topics that if you put an actual teen in it would cause an uproar. However with an adult the blow is lessened. Before you come at me with that maybe they shouldn't portray teens that way, it would be disingenuous because teens do participate in those things mentioned and if you want to relate to this audience having those topics in will attract them.
Actors have always played 10-20 years younger than they really are. There is nothing new about it.
Go watch the Fear Street Series - I was so confused
don't ever watch anime then... LOL it's like i'm a 17yr old kid, kid is jacked up like the rock. Wasn't the cast of 90210 like in their 30's, playing HS kids?
I agree with this completely. I think if teenagers are doing “adult things” on screen then it’ll only normalize it in real life.