Top 20 Oldest Actors to Play Teens in Movies

one single salty tear is all they'll ever suck out of this cry baby welcome to ms mojo and today we're counting down our picks for the top 20 oldest actors to play teens in movies where the hell have you been do you know what time it is get in loser we're going shopping for this list we're looking at actors who were far too old to be playing teenagers but who did so anyway at what age do you draw the line for actors playing teenagers let us know in the comments below number 20 ralph macchio the karate kid hey pretty good huh we don't know if we'd call a 22 year old a kid but whatever the karate kid is one of the most famous movies from the 80s and it stars ralph macchio as the karate kid himself daniel larusso wax on blacks off it's established in the film that daniel is 17 years old filming of the movie commenced on halloween 1983 and wrapped the following december machia was born on november 4th 1961 meaning he turned 22 just after filming began that's only a five-year difference but when it means the difference between high school graduation and college graduation it's quite a bit [Music] number 19 johnny depp crybaby hi kids remember always look both ways before crosstalk mother johnny depp was playing teenagers back in 1984 when he starred in a nightmare on elm street six years later he was still playing teens 1990 saw the release of the cult classic john waters film crybaby which sees depp playing the teenage rebel leader of a local greaser gang crybaby wants some huge i don't drink and drive crybaby premiered in baltimore in march 1990 before receiving a wide release the following month depp was born in june of 1963 meaning he was just two months shy of his 27th birthday when the movie released wide playing a teenager in your early 20s is one thing but depp was closer to 30 than 20. one single salty tear is all they'll ever suck out of this cry baby number 18 jennifer gray dirty dancing nobody puts baby in the corner jennifer gray enjoyed a stellar one-two punch in the mid-80s with ferris bueller's day off in 1986 and dirty dancing in 1987. the latter was particularly successful grossing about three times as much as ferris bueller the movie was filmed in both virginia and north carolina throughout the fall of 1986. jennifer gray was born on march 26 1960 making her 26 years old throughout filming [Music] [Applause] baby is due to start college in the movie meaning she's around 17 or 18 making gray nearly a full decade older than her on-screen character number 17 sean patrick thomas saved the last dance when julia stiles played 17 year old sarah johnson in save the last dance she actually was a teenager yeah that's part of it that's all of it born march 28 1981 she was 19 at the time but that wasn't the case for her co-star sean patrick thomas who played a high school senior and college hopeful named derrick reynolds lesson one all right i've seen a hip-hop like it's more than just like a dance you know it's more like like an attitude born on december 17 1970 thomas had just turned 30 when the movie was released on january 12 2001. we don't know if anyone bought him as a high school senior but either way that is one major age discrepancy you are the one that's gonna have to make the dream come true number 16 rachel true the craft you guys it's not working released in may of 1996 the craft follows a group of outcast high school students who begin to experiment with witchcraft and the film contains a certifiable who's who of mid-90s stars including skeet ulrich nev campbell and faruza roosevelt also starring in the movie is rachel true as rochelle zimmerman an african-american student who's bullied by the popular white girls i drink up my sisters and i ask for the ability to not hate those who hate me true was born on november 15 1966 making her 29 years old when the craft was released in may 1996. she was by far the oldest member of the core cast upon the movie's premiere robin tunney was 23 campbell was 22 and bulk was 21 albeit just a few weeks away from turning 22. how's it going number 15 kevin bacon footloose along with dirty dancing footloose was the big dancing movie craze of the 1980s it stars kevin bacon as a hip teenager named ren mccormick ren is from chicago and when he moves to the rural town of beaumont with his mother he attempts to overrule the local minister's ban on both dancing and rock music so you really can't dance here man i can't believe that it's true filming took place around utah throughout much of the latter half of 1983 before the movie was released in february of 84. star kevin bacon was born on july 8 1958 and he turned 25 years old shortly after filming commenced in may of 1983. hey it's mr dance fever yeah you're a goddamn hero when it's 5-1 number 14 michael j fox back to the future part three pretty heavy huh michael j fox is awesome and he was spectacular as marty mcfly but he was kind of pushing believability by the end fox was born on june 9th 1961 meaning he had just turned 24 when the first back to the future was released in july of 1985. look at my birthday for crying out loud i haven't even been born yet back to the future part three came out five years later but marty remained the same age the third movie was released on may 25th 1990 just a few short weeks before fox's 29th birthday imagining a mid-20s fox as a high school student was easy enough but things started to get a little tricky once he was pushing 30. hey doc where you going now back to the future number 13 patrick swayze the outsiders you know you ain't looking so good you're too tensed up all the time you know come on gary let him fight man everyone's tensed up for a rumble based on s e hinton's iconic novel of the same name the outsiders follows a group of teenage greasers in mid-60s oklahoma at the heart of the story is a young boy named ponyboy curtis and his protective older brother derry is played by patrick swayze what's wrong swayze was born on august 18 1952. the outsiders was filmed from march to may 1982 making swayze 30 years old throughout principal photography and 31 when the movie was released in march of 1983. at least that sort of made the tough older brother angle convincing where the hell have you been do you know what time it is number 12 gabrielle union bring it on you want to make it right then when you go to nationals bring it don't slack off because you feel sorry for us that way when we beat you we'll know it's because we're better this cult classic comedy follows a californian cheerleading team the san diego toros as they compete against their rivals the east compton clovers leading the tauros is torrance shipman played by kirsten dunst and leading the clovers is isis played by gabrielle union hello me and my squad made it to the big show without any of your help i think we can handle it the movie was released on august 25th 2000 a few months after dunst turned 18. however gabrielle union was born in october of 1972 meaning she was just a couple of months shy of her 28th birthday in reality these two high school cheerleaders are a decade apart in age hey i just want to say you know captain's a captain i respect what you guys did out there you guys were good thanks you were better we were huh number 11 shirley henderson the harry potter franchise that was me here i am minding my own business and someone thinks it's funny to throw a book at me according to the harry potter wiki myrtle warren or moaning myrtle as her ghost would later be known was just 14 years old when she was killed by the basilisk in the film myrtle is played by actress shirley henderson i was just sitting in the uben thinking about death oh and it fell through the top of my head henderson was born on november 24th 1965 and chamber of secrets began filming on november 19 2001 this means that the squeaky voiced 14 year old we see in the film is actually a 36 year old woman things get even weirder in goblet of fire as a near 40 year old henderson was hitting on the 15 year old daniel radcliffe number 10 denise richards wild things so where's your host mr lombardo in a film about sex crimes and sexy times it was a deceptive high school student that ran the show and given the provocative nature of john mcnaughton's erotic thriller it became increasingly clear that a then unknown denise richards was a couple of years removed from senior prom can i play too or is it just for boys in fact she was 27 years old at the time of the film's release playing the overtly sexualized kelly van ryan richards steamed up the screen as the plot revealed much more than just the character's love affair and scheming behavior number nine [ __ ] spacek carrie i'm going mama things are gonna change around here by the time brian de palma's iconic horror film reached theaters his lead actress was just shy of her 27th birthday and perhaps best known for her role in the 1973 film badlands how's he doing i got him in the stomach is he upset but after [ __ ] spacex frightening turn as the social outcast carrie white well nobody could forget her blood-curdling screams or even perhaps more so her blood-drenched body blessed with a youthful presence and schooled in method acting at the famous lee strasberg's acting studio spacex stepped into the shoes of the strange puberty stricken social outsider and effectively ravaged the psyches of frazzled moviegoers i'm going you can't stop me number eight winona ryder girl interrupted maybe i was just crazy maybe it was the 60s or maybe i was just a girl interrupted while james mangold's coming of age film featured a teenaged elizabeth moss long before her casting in mad men the star of girl interrupted was already in her late 20s and at the pinnacle of her career when she booked the role maybe everyone out there is a liar and maybe the whole world is stupid and ignorant but i'd rather be in it although years older than her on-screen counterpart winona ryder's pristine appearance made her the ideal choice to play a disturbed yet talented 18-year-old susannah cason the real-life woman on whom the film was based i haven't exactly been a ball of joy melvin with a young angelina jolie coming into her own girl interrupted was an important film for hollywood leading ladies but also reminded us of ryder's timeless movie star charisma is that it number 7. judd nelson the breakfast club eat my shorts today john bender may seem like an over-the-top outcast to some however back in the mid 80s he was the prototypical high school rebel that challenged his fellow breakfast clubbers to think outside the box the man behind this whacked out persona was a 25 year old judd nelson in what was just his third feature film nothing to do when you're locked in a vacancy nah speak for yourself do you think i'd speak for you i don't even know your language he would soon become associated with hollywood's brat pack but in the breakfast club nelson managed to combine a sense of james dean cool with an intellect that made john bender wise beyond his years and that's because it was the truth being bad feels pretty good number six stacy dash clueless would you call me selfish no not to your face ten years after appearing as denise's friend in the cosby show stacy dash once again played a high school student albeit in less organic fashion as she was 28 by the time the film hit theaters woman why don't you be answering any of my pages i hate can you call me woman we've been all weekend what's up you jeeping behind my back even so the character of dion davenport boasted a knack for both the vogue and valley girl slang all the while etching herself into the memories of admiring moviegoers so shopping with dr seuss well at least i wouldn't skin a collie to make my backpack number 5. andrew garfield the amazing spider-man you a cop really you seriously think i'm a cop when andrew garfield was cast as your friendly neighborhood spider-man north americans scratched their heads and tried to figure out where exactly they'd seen him hey it's uh it's peter right oh yeah he was eduardo severin from the social network you have no idea what that's going to mean to my father a natural selection for the superhero film however at 27 years of age when filming began garfield had accumulated the necessary skills to exude the youthful charm and composure of one teenaged peter parker while crawling his way directly to the bank just as toby maguire did when tackling the role at 26 years of age for the 2002 film you know who i am i do you're friendly neighborhood spiderman number four rachel mcadams mean girls get in loser we're going shopping the same year she made audiences weep thanks to the notebook rachel mcadams first appeared in another cult classic playing regina george the supreme diva of the clique known as the plastics you're like really pretty thank you so you agree what you think you're really pretty at 25 years of age mcadams channeled her inner sass to corrupt a new arrival and she was quite convincing as the blonde princess she thinks she's gonna have a party and not invite me who does she think she is you're right hon i like invented her you know what i mean by 2004 it had been a couple of years since mcadams had made her big screen debut but it was mean girls that established mcadams as one of the emerging badass talents of the decade i know right number three leonardo dicaprio catch me if you can my name is frank taylor i'm a co-pilot for pan am i'd like to cash this check here and then i'd like to take you out for a steak dinner by 2002 leonardo dicaprio had entered the scorsesean phase of his career even if the world still viewed him as the pretty boy actor from titanic to mark the beginning of a new era the 28 year old gave moviegoers two cinematic gifts gangs of new york and catch me if you can the latter a collaboration with steven spielberg in which he played a teenage con artist but the jump seat is open you know it's been a while since i've done this which one's the jump seat again [Laughter] with pryor too old to be a teenager experience in the basketball diaries dicaprio managed to capture the same sense of unflappable ignorant wonder in his role as real-life frank abagnale jr number two alan ruck ferris bueller's day off what i do matthew broderick functioned as the obvious driving force behind ferris bueller's day off but it was his depressive best friend that offered a healthy amount of comic relief if you're not over here in 15 minutes you can find a new best friend you've been saying that since the fifth grade about to turn 30 years old at the time of the film's premiere allen ruck sported a clean cut look and donned a detroit red wings jersey to capture the essence of cameron frye who was a kid dominated by fear and unaware of his true independence look don't ask me to participate in your stupid crap if you don't like the way i do it life moves pretty fast in hollywood and despite this only being his third feature rock stood his ground alongside a truly iconic performance ferris bueller you're my hero before we continue be sure to subscribe to our channel and ring the bell to get notified about our latest videos you have the option to be notified for occasional videos or all of them if you're on your phone make sure you go into your settings and switch on notifications number one stocker channing and the whole cast greece that's ancient history well history sometimes repeats itself no one in this film is exactly the picture of youth but some cast members are a bit more suspect than others as high school students when production began on greece in 1977 john travolta was on the younger side at 23 years old while olivia newton-john was 28. the t-birds ages ranged from kelly ward who was 20 to 31 year old michael tucci aren't you supposed to be in homeroom right now i was just going for a walk jan actress jamie donnelly who was in her early 30s during shooting had to dye her hair to hide the grays looking pretty good this year harris but fellow pink lady stocker channing was the eldest at age 33. that's the one i was telling you about regardless of age stalker channing really used her maturity to her advantage to portray a multifaceted character there are worse things i could do then go with a boy or two do you agree with our picks check out this other recent clip from mizmojo and be sure to subscribe and ring the bell to be notified about our latest videos

Channel: MsMojo

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Keywords: oldest actors to play teens in movies, oldest actors in teen movies, oldest actors to play teens, old actors playing teenagers, teen movies, grease, ferris bueller's day off, catch me if you can, mean girls, the amazing spider-man, clueless, the breakfast club, girl interrupted, carrie, wild things, harry potter, film, movies, comedy, watchmojo, watch mojo, top 10, list, mojo, msmojo

Id: a77khMWYfpU

Length: 19min 20sec (1160 seconds)

Published: Thu Feb 11 2021