11 Adult Actors Who Perfectly Aced Their Teenage Roles (Barbra Streisand Knows Best How to Play a 17-Year-Old at 41)

Talent is a great thing, and Hollywood actors keep proving their amazing abilities on film and TV! How else can you explain these adult actors’ ability to turn into high school students without viewers even noticing?

At Bright Side, we want to reveal some of these actors’ actual ages even though they played much younger.

1. Jason Earles, Hannah Montana

Jason Earles obviously knows the secret of eternal youth. Maybe that’s why he was chosen to portray Jackson Stewart on Hannah Montana, when in reality he was more than 15 older than his character. During the filming, Earles was already a happy father and husband.

2. Tom Welling, Smallville

Tom Welling was considered a heartthrob for many young girls back in 2000 when he portrayed the young Superman. Smallville tells us the story of Clark Kent back when he was in school. Tom was 10 years older than his character.

3. Jared Leto, Girl, Interrupted

In the psychological thriller, Girl, Interrupted, Jared Leto portrayed Tobias — the boyfriend of the main character. In the movie, Tobias finished school and was going to college. But Leto was actually 28 years old during filming.

4. Stacey Dash, Clueless

In Clueless, Dionne Davenport was a school student portrayed by Stacey Dash. In real life, the actress was 28 years old. The movie was so successful that the producers made a TV-series where Stacey continued to portray a teenager until the age of 33.

5. Bianca Lawson, Pretty Little Liars

In Pretty Little Liars, Bianca Lawson portrayed Maya St. Germain, a 17-year-old high school student. Lawson was 31 years old during filming. The actress was on the show for 2 seasons and left at the age of 33. Bianca, what is your secret?

6. Matthew Broderick, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off

Here’s another actor who portrayed a school student: Matthew Broderick. He easily turned into 18-year-old Ferris Bueller, a rebellious high school student. And his friend Cameron Frye was portrayed by Alan Ruck who was actually 29 at the time.

7. Barbra Streisand Yentl

Barbra Streisand played the leading role in Yentl at the age of 41. Her character, a Jewish girl named Yentl, was only 17 years old in the movie. In order to get a degree, she dresses as a boy and goes to college.

8. Sissy Spacek, Carrie

Sissy Spacek was 25 years old when she played the role of high school student, Carrie White, in the horror movie based on the Stephen King novel. Several years ago, a remake was released. Chloë Grace Moretz played the role, and she was actually a teenager.

9. Taylor Kitsch, Friday Night Lights

When Taylor Kitsch was on Friday Night Lights, he was 27 years old. And his character, Tim Riggins, was only 18 years old.

10. Andrew Garfield, Spider-Man

Andrew Garfield was handed the baton by Tobey Maguire and played the 17-year-old Peter Parker at the age of 27. Andrew had dreamt of playing this role since the age of 3 when he put on a Spider-Man suit for the first time in his life.

11. Emily Kinney, The Walking Dead

Emily Kinney became popular after playing the 16-year-old Beth Greene in The Walking Dead, in seasons 2 through 5. Kinney was actually 26 years old at the time.

Do you think that adult actors look real when portraying such young people? Share your opinion in the comment section below!