Adult Actors Playing Teenagers

How do you feel about a teenage character on TV and in movies being played by an adult actor who is well past that age....and looks it? Does it make it feel phonier for you? IMO....I prefer a 21 y/o playing a 16 y/o character, because they can be manipulated into being a cliche "teen look." Some real 16 y/o's can damn near look 12, and it's hard to take them playing in quasi-adult situations.

It kind of ticks me off.

The way I see it, less a Disney show like iCarly, young adults should be used for teen roles. There is enough talent to pick from.

Plus, it is better for the studio because they don't have to worry about child labor laws or on-set tutors.

Doesn't bother me as long as they don't get ridiculous & use 30-somethings. If the actor can sell it, it's cool.

I think Full Force playing teenagers in House Party was a little more than ridiculous.

It's nothing new. Does anybody remember The Blob (1958)? Steve McQueen, 27 years old playing a 17 year old, and I really never had a chance to find out if I thought he was convincing or not because we recorded it off Cinemax with one of those Something Interesting things that mentioned his age during a discussion of the two versions of the movie, so I always knew he was a lot older than his character was, but I always thought he looked right for 17. And in Rebel Without a Cause, James Dean was 24 playing 18 years old. Of course then there's a case where it's reversed because in 1938, 15 year old Ann Miller was playing a married woman (quite convincingly I thought) in You Can't Take it With You. So the idea is about as old as movies themselves, but it's a lot more annoying now.

It doesn't really bother me and it makes things a lot easier - you don't have to hire a tutor, watch the number of hours you have on set with the actor, and so on. If the actor can sell it, I have no problem with it. Sometimes, though, it just doesn't work.

After a while it can get ridiculous but some actors can pull it off. Sarah Hyland (Haley on Modern Family) will be 21 this year but she looks about 16.