# Actors who have ben a regular in TV shows both as children and as adults. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 7, 2008, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-have-ben-a-regular-in-tv-shows-both-as-children-and-as-adults/440486 "2008-03-07T19:12:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2008, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-have-ben-a-regular-in-tv-shows-both-as-children-and-as-adults/440486/61 "2008-03-11T01:17:21Z")
Speaking of _The Wonder Years_, **Fred Savage** had a regular role as an adult in the series [Working](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Working_%28TV_series%29). ---
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2008, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-have-ben-a-regular-in-tv-shows-both-as-children-and-as-adults/440486/62 "2008-03-11T04:10:24Z")
[QUOTE=5-4-Fighting] [Max Casella](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0143295/) played Vinnie Delpino, Doogie’s sidekick on the show, and later played Bennie Fazio, a member of the crew, on _The Sopranos_ for 29 episodes. In one memorable scene on the _The Sopranos_, Bennie immerses a restauranteur named Artie Bucco’ s hand into a vat of boiling tomato sauce. Little sweet Vinnie Delpino did that?!?! [/QUOTE] I have only seen random episodes of The Sopranos - I’ll have to keep my eyes peeled for Vinnie. I see that some of his eps are scheduled for this weekend. Thanks for the link. ---
**Author:** ![Tapiotar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3be4f8/32.png) [@Tapiotar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapiotar)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2008, 10:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-have-ben-a-regular-in-tv-shows-both-as-children-and-as-adults/440486/63 "2008-03-11T10:45:01Z")
[Jackie Cooper](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackie_Cooper) , another child actor who predated television, but who had a successful tv series, Hennesey, as an adult. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2008, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-have-ben-a-regular-in-tv-shows-both-as-children-and-as-adults/440486/64 "2008-05-30T12:55:20Z")
Bumping my own thread to mention Johnny Galecki (Roseanne) and Kaley Cuoco (8 Simple Rules), now starring in The Big Bang Theory. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2008, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-have-ben-a-regular-in-tv-shows-both-as-children-and-as-adults/440486/65 "2008-05-30T13:17:44Z")
dupe ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2008, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-have-ben-a-regular-in-tv-shows-both-as-children-and-as-adults/440486/66 "2008-05-30T13:21:01Z")
[QUOTE=spoke-] Speaking of _The Wonder Years_, **Fred Savage** had a regular role as an adult in the series [Working](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Working_%28TV_series%29). [/QUOTE] He was also the voice of Oswald in the cartoon _Oswald_. I don’t know if they are still making them, thank god my kids are too old for that now. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2008, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-have-ben-a-regular-in-tv-shows-both-as-children-and-as-adults/440486/67 "2008-05-30T13:36:27Z")
[QUOTE=bibliophage] Doherty’s Our House co-star Chad Allen was about 9 when he started appearing on St. Elsewhere in a recurring role as the autistic son of one of the doctors and went on to work as an adult on Our House and Dr. Quinn. [/QUOTE] He was still a child in _Our House_…I think he was early teens. But yes, on _Dr. Quinn_ he was an adult. Very much an adult. A very much legal adult. Mmmmm… ---
**Author:** ![gwendee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/35a633/32.png) [@gwendee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gwendee)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2008, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-have-ben-a-regular-in-tv-shows-both-as-children-and-as-adults/440486/68 "2008-05-31T19:57:35Z")
[Allison Smith](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0807278/) played Allie’s (Jane Curtin’s) daughter on Kate & Allie in her teens, and playe Leo McGarry’s daughter in a recurring role on The West Wing. ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2008, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-have-ben-a-regular-in-tv-shows-both-as-children-and-as-adults/440486/69 "2008-06-01T01:27:36Z")
The lovely and talented [Jerry O’Connell](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005278/) had his own series, “My Secret Identity” from age 14-17, and as an adult went on to star in “Sliders” and “Crossing Jordan” in addition to guest appearances and movie roles. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2008, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-have-ben-a-regular-in-tv-shows-both-as-children-and-as-adults/440486/70 "2008-06-01T03:41:07Z")
Jason Bateman also starred in an unjustly short-lived sitcom It’s Your Move (1984-85) ---
**Author:** ![Satellite\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Satellite\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Satellite_Guy)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2008, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-have-ben-a-regular-in-tv-shows-both-as-children-and-as-adults/440486/71 "2008-06-01T06:47:41Z")
I don’t know much about 7th Heaven, but it ran from 1996 to 2007, with children who were adults at the end of the series… S^G ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2008, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-have-ben-a-regular-in-tv-shows-both-as-children-and-as-adults/440486/72 "2008-06-01T20:03:01Z")
Ryan Reynolds played Billy, the pesky younger brother of one of the main characters, on “Fifteen” when he was 14. Then at 22 starred as Berg on “Two Guys, A Girl and a Pizza Place” (promptedly renamed “Two Guys and a Girl”) Alexz Johnson played Annie on “So Weird” it’s third season replacing the show’s star, Cara DeLizia, when she was in her early teens. Now at 21 she’s the star of “Instant Star.” Also, while on So Weird a former child star played her guardian - Mackenzie Phillips. Several years before being on “Buffy The Vampire Slayer” and “How i Met Your Mother” Alyson Hannigan was on a short-lived show called “Free Spirit” in which she played a child with a witch nanny. Emily VanCamp was on another short-lived show as a teenager called “Glory Days” before becoming a regular on “Everwood” and “Brothers & Sisters.” Teenage Jennifer Love Hewitt was a regular on “Party of Five” years before she became the “Ghost Whisperer.” ---
**Author:** ![Valgard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/7feea3/32.png) [@Valgard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Valgard)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2008, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-have-ben-a-regular-in-tv-shows-both-as-children-and-as-adults/440486/73 "2008-06-01T21:16:22Z")
Danny Bonaduce from The Partridge Family as a kid, he seems to work pretty steadily doing actual acting and of course had his share of reality TV shows as himself. ---
**Author:** ![missouri65](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/74df32/32.png) [@missouri65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missouri65)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2008, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-have-ben-a-regular-in-tv-shows-both-as-children-and-as-adults/440486/74 "2008-06-02T04:19:10Z")
A couple of posts about Canadian shows reminded me of the Degrassi characters. Pat Mastroianni, Stefan Brogren, Amanda Stepto, and Stacie Mistysyn (who was also apparently on Kids of Degrassi Street as a different character) reprised their roles from the original series to play adults on Degrassi: The Next Generation. From IMDB, it looks like they ranged from 14-17 when they first appeared. Tiffani Thiessan was about 16 when she started on Saved by the Bell, and has been a regular on several series as an adult, including Beverly Hills 90210 and Fastlane. Mario Lopez was also about 16 when he joined the cast, and later played in Pacific Blue, and apparently The Bold and the Beautiful as an adult. Their co-star Lark Voorhies was on Good Morning, Miss Bliss at 13, stayed on when it transformed to Saved by the Bell, and then went on to The Bold and the Beautiful in her early 20s. Nancy Mckeon was about 14 when she started on Facts of Life. As an adult, she starred in Lifetime’s The Division. Madeline Zima, who was the youngest child on The Nanny, has more recently been in Californication. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-have-ben-a-regular-in-tv-shows-both-as-children-and-as-adults/440486.md?page=3)