Actors Who Played Younger Roles:
Actors are often seen playing characters that are younger or older than their real self. To be convincing in any role is the main part of acting and a mark of a good artist. Over the years many of our favorite stars have taken upon roles that portrayed them as younger than their real age and many of them did an amazing job in such roles. These are some of those characters and the actors who played them on screen.
10. Shirley Henderson:
This is one of the most shocking instances of an adult actor playing a much younger role because of the huge age gap. We all remember Moaning Myrtle from Harry Potter and the actress who played the character was actually 37 at the time she played the role of the Hogwarts student. Myrtle was supposed to be a 14-15 year old student but Henderson fit into the role pretty well.
9. Emma Thompson:
The veteran actor has had an amazing career with countless memorable roles and one such role was in the movie Sense and sensibility where she played an 18 year old when she was around 35 herself. Thompson did not just act in the movie but she also wrote the screenplay and needless to say she made the film what it was. It is still seen as one of the best adaptations of any Austen novel.
8. Winona Ryder:
Currently famous for playing Joyce Byers on Stranger things, Winona Ryder was a mega star in the early 90s. In the movie ‘Girl, interrupted’ she played a character of an 18 year old while she herself was 27 at the time. It is not hard to believe that Ryder played younger roles till a long time as she has always looked way younger than her age.
7. Tobey Maguire:
It is debatable whether he was the best Spider-Man or not but Tobey Maguire played the role of a teenager pretty well when he was around 27 himself in the first movie. Tobey’s Peter Parker was fun to watch and he did not let his age be an obstacle to his performance. His baby face and nerdy looks got him through this character and he became a fan favorite and household name. Andrew Garfield followed in his footsteps a few years later and played the character when he was in his late 20s as well.
6. Jason Earls:
We all remember the hit Disney show ‘Hannah Montana’ and Jackson was one of the most hilarious characters on the show with many funny moments and antics. Jason Earles was probably the oldest actor plying a teenager on the show. At the time, Earles was 29 playing a 16 year old High school boy and was in his mid-thirties when the show ended. It is amazing how he was able to pull that off so convincingly.
5. Jim Parsons:
Parsons is famous for playing the character of the genius physicist Sheldon Cooper on the hit show ‘Big bang theory’. A lot of people don’t know that Parsons is actually much older than his onscreen persona but his young looks make up for this limitation. There is a 7-8 year age gap between him and Sheldon.
4. Cole Sprouse:
He and his twin had a super hit show when they were kids on Disney channel and recently Cole returned to TV as Jughead on CW’s ‘Riverdale’. His character has been a fan favourite but you might be surprised to know that Sprouse is almost a decade older than his onscreen persona as he is 26 while Jug-head is around 16. TV shows often cast older actors as teenager and this is just another good example of that.
3. Orlando Bloom:
The handsome hunk Orlando Bloom played an important role in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise as Will Turner. Will is supposed to be 18 in the first film and Bloom was 26 when they filmed the movie. His young looks and specially his baby face help him play roles where he is just a boy. Bloom is no stranger to playing roles with such age gaps as he has also played the role of Legolas in Lord of the Rings who is more than a thousand years old.
2. Emilia Clarke:
You may love or hate Daenarys in GOT but you cannot deny that Emilia Clarke did one hell of a job portraying the character of the loved Khaleesi. In the books Dany is just 13 at the beginning but in the show she is around 16 when the show starts. Clarke was in her early 20s when she was casted and did total justice to her character throughout the series. She also suffered through a serious disease at the young age.
1.Rachel McAdams:
The extremely talented and gorgeous Rachel McAdams has probably found the fountain of youth as she seems to have stopped ageing. One of her most memorable performances was as Regina George in ‘Mean girls’ where she played a high school student when she was actually in her 20s at the time. She looked just like a teenager and did a great job portraying the charismatic mean girl.
