Forever YoungStill in High School? Actors Who Played Teenagers When They Were Over 30 Years Old
By Nakeisha Campbell and Shelby Stivale
DAVID MOIR/NETFLIX
These actors are forever young! Because so many of our favorite TV shows are set in high school, the stars are sometimes way older than the characters whom they play.
Ross Butler, for one, played the role of high school Zach Dempsey for all four seasons of 13 Reasons Why. While his character on the show was a total jock, Ross told Seventeen in May 2017 that the role was the complete opposite of his real-life high school experience.
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"I wasn't a jock at all in high school. I was kind of like this drifter who, because I'm half white and half Asian, I didn't really fit in with the Asian crowd, and I didn't really fit in with my white friends, or at least I didn't feel like I did," he explained at the time. "I was so self-conscious. I like to say I was a creature in high school. A weird creature who had my hands in a lot of different things."
Amid his 13 Reasons Why role, Ross also played a teen in two of Netflix's To All the Boys I've Loved Before movies. "It's keeping me young mentally, which I've enjoyed, keeping the young, youthful energy," Ross told Variety in February 2020.
When Paul Wesley first appeared on screen as Stefan Salvatore in The Vampire Diaries in 2009, he was way into his late 20s. Riverdale actress Ashleigh Murray was also way older than her character, Josie McCoy, when the show premiered in January 2017. But that didn't matter, because she loved the role.
"I view this Josie as a reincarnation. It's not so much that I'm trying to erase or undo what was already done, but present it to the public that way is a bit more palatable, and it's a bit easier for people to connect to," the actress told Teen Vogue of the role in June 2017. "It's really important to be able to imitate life the way that we see it, so I'm so ready to open up people's eyes and be like, 'Look! This is everyday life, this is what it's like, and this is how kids handle it, and this is how particularly kids from this background handle it!' So, I want to be able to reach people in that manner so that there is no discomfort. They can ease right into it and be like, 'Yeah, all right, this is cool. This is great.'"
Scroll through our gallery to see which actors were over 30 years old when they played teenagers in movies or on TV shows.
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Photo by Image Press Agency/NurPhoto/Shutterstock
Darren Barnet
Daren plays 18-year-old Paxton Hall-Yoshida in Netflix's Never Have I Ever as a 30-year-old!
"It's really not a new formula," Barnet told Us Weekly in April 2022 on being an adult who plays a teen. "Look at 90210 and Grease — Kenickie was about to cash in his 401k. This guy was [old]! It's fun!"
He also spoke on the negative side of playing such a younger character than himself. "I try not to get too self-critical of myself when I'm watching it. Like, 'Oh, God, I look so much older than this person,'" he explained. "That's [a] point of mental health that I've really had to digest. I've [had to] become OK with watching myself and accepting of the fact that I'm not 18. I'm not really this guy."
Timothy Granaderos
Timothy was actually 32 when he played Montgomery de la Cruz in 13 Reasons Why!
Bettina Strauss/The CW
Fans may be shocked to learn that Ashleigh was actually 32 years old IRL, and she played a teenager in Riverdale! Her character, Josie McCoy, was supposed to be 16 or 17 years old.
Marcos Cruz / Netflix
Meganne Young
Meganne played Lee's love interest, Rachel, in The Kissing Booth making her a senior in high school. She was 30 years old while playing the role.
John Photography/Shutterstock
Bianca Lawson
She played 17-year-old Maya St. Germain on Pretty Little Liars when she was 33.
Disney/Kobal/Shutterstock
Jason Earles
He was actually 29 when he started playing Miley's older brother, Jackson Stewart. By the time he turned 32, his character was just 18 years old!
Beth Dubber/Netflix
Ross Butler
Ross was 30 years old when 13 Reasons Why's final season premiered, which means he was more than 10 years older than his character, Zach.
Nina Prommer/EPA/Shutterstock
Allen Evangelista
He started to play 15-year-old Henry Miller on The Secret Life of The American Teenager when he was 26! By the time his character turned 19, he was 30 years old in real life.
Ryan Murphy Prods/Kobal/Shutterstock
Harry Shum Jr.
The Glee actor turned 30 when his character, Mike Chang, was in his senior year of high school. He totally passed for an 18-year-old!
Cw Network/Kobal/Shutterstock
Paul's character on The Vampire Diaries (Stefan Salvatore) is actually a 17-year-old vampire who never ages. Believe it or not, he was well into his 30s while playing the teenager!
Abc Family/Alloy Entertainment/Warner Horizon Tv/Kobal/Shutterstock
Troian was 30 while she played 18-year-old Spencer Hastings on Pretty Little Liars.
Matt Baron/BEI/Shutterstock
Arden Cho
The actress was 30 when she played Beacon Hills High student Kira Yukimura on Teen Wolf.
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