20 Stars Who Have Played Characters 10 Years Younger Than Them

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19. Monique Coleman

Monique was anything but a high school student when she played 16-year-old Taylor McKessie in High School Musical! She was 26-years-old at the time.

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18. Paul Wesley

Paul Wesley played 17-year-old Stefan Salvatore on The Vampire Diaries when he was 27-years-old!

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17. Zach Gilford

Zach Girlford from Friday Night Lights was not a teenager when he was starring on the show. He was 22 years old.

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16. Tom Welling

Tom Welling was 24-years-old when he played 14-year-old Clark Kent on Smallville. How did he pass as 14-year-old? Well, Welling seems to have a really youthful look!

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15. Meredith Monroe

Meredith Monroe played 15-year-old Andie McPhee on the teen drama Dawson’s Creek; however, Monroe was anything but a teenager! In fact, the actress was actually 29!

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14. Gabrielle Carteris

Gabrielle Carteris played Andrea Zuckerman, a brainy high school student, on Beverly Hills, 90210. Strangely, Carteris was 29 when she started this role, which means that she was almost twice as old as her character!

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13. Alan Ruck

You might remember Alan Ruck from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off – Ruck played Cameron Frye, Ferris Bueller’s morose sidekick! Although the film is about high school seniors, Ruck was actually 30-years-old when the movie came out in theatres!

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12. Kerr Smith

In 1998, Kerr Smith played 15-year-old Jack McPhee on Dawson’s Creek. Kerr was actually 26 years old at the time!

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11. Jason Earles

Jason Earles played Miley Cyrus’ big brother on Hannah Montana. While there is only a year between the siblings on the show, Earles and Cyrus had 15 years between them. Once the show ended Earles’ character was 19 and he was 34!

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10. Cory Monteith

Cory Monteith played Finn, a high school student, on Glee and, apparently, he was so convincing in this role people were actually shocked to find out he was 31 when he died. When the show started,  Monteith was 27 years old – which is a lot older than a high school student!

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9. Andrew Garfield

Andrew Garfield – star of The Amazing Spider-Man – played 17-year-old Peter Parker/Spider-Man when he was 28-years-old!

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8. Taylor Kitsch

Taylor Kitsch is best known for his role as Tim Riggins, a high school student who is the fullback/running back of the Dillon Panthers, on Friday Night Lights. Kitsch’s character was supposed to be 18 and the actor was 28-years-old!

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7. Alison Brie

Alison Brie plays 18-year-old Annie Edison on Community. During season one, she was 28, which makes her a whole decade older than her character!

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6. Charisma Carpenter

Charisma Carpenter played Cordelia in the hit series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Carpenter’s character was only 16-years-old when the show began while the actress was actually 27!

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5. Benjamin McKenzie

Benjamin McKenzie played 15-year-old Ryan Atwood, a troubled high school student, on The O.C. when he was 25 years! Sounds more like a college graduate to us!

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4. Stacey Dash

Stacey Dash was 28-years-old with a child when she played 15-year-old Dionne in Clueless. Five years later, at the age of 32, she reprised her role for the spinoff television series.

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3. Bianca Lawson

Bianca Lawson played 16-year-old Maya St. Germain on Pretty Little Liars. Considering that she had been playing a teenager back in the ’90s when she was on Saved by the Bell: The New Class, we’d say it’s time that she finally graduate to adult roles!

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2. Trevor Donovan

Trevor Donovan played Teddy, a high school student, on 90210. For the duration of the show, Donovan was definitely not a teenager. He was actually in his 30s!

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1. Rachel McAdams

Rachel McAdams played Regina George, a high school mean girl, in the movie “Mean Girls” when she was 26 years old! Her character was supposed to be 16!

Cate

Cate has a B.A. and an M.A. in English Literature and has been the Managing Editor of Fame10 for more than 6 years. Despite having a love for the works of Thomas Hardy, Leo Tolstoy and Lord Byron, she also has an intense fascination with pop culture. When she isn’t writing for Fame10, she’s planning her next big adventure in Southeast Asia.