[QUOTE=RickJay]
…Maybe it’s just me, but the Summar Glaus and Alyson Hannigans of the world don’t fool me for an instant, not even long enough to suspend disbelief. Getting little Ellen Page, 20, to play someone 16 isn’t a stretch because four years just isn’t a lot of difference anyway. But Summer Glau doesn’t look like a teenager, she looks liks a woman in her late 20s. (Looking it up on IMDB, she’s 27.) It’s her eyes; there’s something about a person’s eyes, about the way the face moves. Shows like “Beverly Hills 90210” and “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” were just absurd to me beyond belief, watching these 25- and 30-year-olds pretend to be teenagers.
I can think of only a handful of actors who’ve pulled this off to my satisfaction, and most of the time it looks ridiculous.
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I can see where age discrepancies might trouble those looking for Teen Role Models on TV. Doesn’t Disney have some shows that might fit that niche? Or–the Nickoledeon channel for older kids?
My teen years are far behind me. Real teens aren’t hired that often because they’re still growing. And there are legal considerations–hours worked, time off for school, etc. (Not to mention “adult” aspects of certain roles.)
I didn’t look to Buffy for a realistic slice of life–just like my High School! The show featured actors in their early 20’s–who aged as the show continued. Speaking words written by very smart writers in their 30’s (& maybe 40’s). And the stories included vampires, werewolves & demons!
The concept of High School as Hell Mouth certainly resonates. But all that TV stuff is fiction! Either you enjoy it or you don’t.
I’m dating myself here, but I was a kid when “Welcome Back, Kotter” was on. Everyone above my age was either “big kid,” “grown-up,” or “old.” From day one, none of the Sweathogs looked at all like big kids. They were always grown-ups.
Way back in that horrible time known as “The Eighties” I could never understand why the actors in movies and TV shows were so old. I mean, mustaches, body hair, loads of muscle tone in your average high school class? Puh-leeze. And they were all driving cars too. Made no sense.
Then I found out that in most of North America, high school goes two years beyond what it does in Quebec. That was a big change. But all those actors still looked old to me.
I’ll have to agree with what a previous poster said about looking at how these girls carry themselves (and at how they behave) rather than at their physical appearance. I suppose this is why Claire seems older to me - she carries herself like a woman a few years older. Summer Glau comes off as much younger on Terminator, despite being ~8 years older than Hayden, though in her case the voice and speech mannerisms may have something to do with it.
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This may be true, but it means that they are either bad actors or getting bad direction (or both.) Any decent actor should be able to play the mannerisms of a different age, but can’t do all that much about appearance.
^^^See, to me, its just not “mannerisms.” Hard to explain, but watch a 22-year-old woman lean against a locker. Watch the way her eyes focus, watch the way she imperceptibly tilts her head. Then watch a 15-year-old who has not “grown” mentally into her adult-sized body.
They will not lean against the locker the same way. Watch as they walk away. The older will carry her body in an “adult” manner. She’s had it for seven or eight years, has matured mentally into it. The fifteen year old has had it for a year or two.
Maybe, its just me, but I am hardly ever wrong when I guess ages.
Jason Earles who plays Hannah Montana’s teenage (out of high school I think - I don’t actually WATCH the show) brother is 31. I don’t think he’s convincing, but my kids were FLOORED to learn he was actually a grown up.
I find the Harry Potter kids to be more or less convincing - which is to say that kids grow up a lot between 11 and 17 - which is what the Harry Potter kids have been doing. I’ve known plenty of mature looking 15 to 17 year old kids - and plenty of 22 year olds who can pass for 17.
(I was still getting carded for RATED R MOVIES!!! into my twenties. It took me into my late 30s to stop being asked for ID when I ordered a drink with dinner. And in my late 20s I had 17 year old boys ask me out and assume I was their age. My sister, on the other hand, has looked middle aged since high school - and now at 39 looks more like my mother’s sister than my sister - though she did have a year of chemo to age her prematurely. And the baby hit 22 at 15 and stayed there until 30 - when hard living made her age rather quickly.)
The record my be by Leo Gorcey who was still playing a teenager in The Bowery Boy movies when he was 39. Was he believable? I loved those movies as a kid when they came out and it never occurred to me to question his age until my older brother pointed it out. Then it was obvious.
John Travolta, Olivia Newton John, Jeff Conaway and Stockard Channing were 24, 30, 28 and 34 years old respectively when they played high school students in Grease. They looked it too.
[QUOTE=gonzomax]
At my age the question doesn’t have meaning. How can you tell a 21 year old from a 17 year old. Same thing. Cops are kids, bus drivers are kids, actors mostly kids.
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A good point. If it were that easy to tell, bars wouldn’t need to check ID.
[QUOTE=Sir Rhosis]
^^^See, to me, its just not “mannerisms.” Hard to explain, but watch a 22-year-old woman lean against a locker. Watch the way her eyes focus, watch the way she imperceptibly tilts her head. Then watch a 15-year-old who has not “grown” mentally into her adult-sized body.
They will not lean against the locker the same way. Watch as they walk away. The older will carry her body in an “adult” manner. She’s had it for seven or eight years, has matured mentally into it. The fifteen year old has had it for a year or two.
Maybe, its just me, but I am hardly ever wrong when I guess ages.
^^^ Obvious point. And my point is that 99% of the 22-year-olds playing teens I’ve seen can’t convincingly act that age despite looking that age.
I’m alone on this, it seems.
But to be fair, my teen show watching ended in the 70s and I am aware of only one or two of the actors named in this thread. Maybe kids and young adults have really changed that much in 25 years.
The thing I find interesting about the show Gossip Girl is that the only actress who is the same age as her character is Jenny…who is not only the youngest main character (14), but looks much older than she should be, while the actually older actors look right on spot.
[QUOTE=GuanoLad]
In the last film, which will most likely start shooting late this year or early next, they will be playing age 17, and their actual ages will be 19 (Dan), 20 (Rupert), and 18 (Emma). This is well within a minimal difference where you wouldn’t be able to determine their true ages from their appearance. I anticipate no problem with it, and really it’s the continuity of using the same actors every time that will matter more; an almost unprecedented feat for such a long series.
I have no problem with actors playing younger, or older, if it’s under 10 years difference. If they are lucky enough to have that ageless Michael J Fox/Ralph Macchio look, then I’d stretch that to 15 years.
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Speaking of the HP series, the woman who portrays Moaning Myrtle was 40 in GOF.
[QUOTE=Phase42]
…Speaking of which, Claire is the second character I’ve seen recently who gets voted Homecoming Queen at age 15-16. Is this a regional thing? Because at both high schools I attended (and every other RL high school I’ve heard of), Homecoming Queen is reserved for a Senior girl. A 15-16YO is going to be a Sophomore or Junior.
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At my high school a junior boy and girl were crowned Prince and Princess at the Winter Semi-formal, but that’s it. Prom and Homecoming honors were reserved for seniors. Freshmen and sophomores weren’t even allowed to attend Prom except as dates of upperclassmen.
[QUOTE=Ronald C. Semone]
The record my be by Leo Gorcey who was still playing a teenager in The Bowery Boy movies when he was 39. Was he believable? I loved those movies as a kid when they came out and it never occurred to me to question his age until my older brother pointed it out. Then it was obvious.
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I watched those things all the time when I was under 10, and it never occurred to me that they were supposed to be kids. But at that age 17 was ancient.