# Movies where old person, young body was done well? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 26, 2012, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-old-person-young-body-was-done-well/610676 "2012-01-26T03:33:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Anachronism](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e56c9b/32.png) [@Anachronism](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anachronism)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2012, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-old-person-young-body-was-done-well/610676/1 "2012-01-26T03:33:50Z")
I recently saw the movie ‘In Time’ (The 37% it got on Rotten Tomatoes seems a bit generous 😛 )Not really a spoiler since it was in every single trailer for the movie 'but - Everyone stops aging at 25 years old, there where several characters who where supposed to be much older but looked 25. I don’t feel like the actors did a great job portraying an old person in a young body. So, does anyone have any examples of a movie where old person in a young body was portrayed well? ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2012, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-old-person-young-body-was-done-well/610676/2 "2012-01-26T03:50:57Z")
The first movie that comes to my mind is “Big”. I’m pretty sure I’ve heard criticism of it here, but I thought it was absolutely charming. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2012, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-old-person-young-body-was-done-well/610676/3 "2012-01-26T05:47:07Z")
Not a movie, but the latest incarnation of _Doctor Who_, Matt Smith, does a terrific job of playing what is essentially a young man trapped in an old man’s body trapped in a young man’s body. ---
**Author:** ![panamajack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/47e85d/32.png) [@panamajack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panamajack)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2012, 8:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-old-person-young-body-was-done-well/610676/4 "2012-01-26T08:52:19Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUB](#): > > The first movie that comes to my mind is “Big”. I’m pretty sure I’ve heard criticism of it here, but I thought it was absolutely charming. I think the only criticism is that that’s a young person in an older person’s body. Acting childlike is relatively easy for an actor, but acting older is rarely done well. I’d toss out **The Tin Drum** for consideration. Until now I hadn’t really thought about the fact that they had to film it with an actual child. (Granted there are a few cheats about it, but it’s done smoothly). ---
**Author:** ![eclectic\_wench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ac91a4/32.png) [@eclectic\_wench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eclectic_wench)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2012, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-old-person-young-body-was-done-well/610676/5 "2012-01-26T17:05:34Z")
It’s been a long time since I saw it, but I remember Kirsten Dunst being wonderful in _Interview with a Vampire_. She gets vampirised when she’s maybe eleven years old - she stops developing physically, but keeps growing up in many ways mentally and emotionally, and she’s not one bit happy about how she’s ended up. Very well acted, and quite eerie. ---
**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:** [January 26, 2012, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-old-person-young-body-was-done-well/610676/6 "2012-01-26T21:09:00Z")
Not a movie, but Tommy Solomon on 3rd Rock From The Sun, was the oldest of the aliens but trapped in a teenager’s body. Joseph Gordon-Levett played him quite well from the beginning. ---
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2012, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-old-person-young-body-was-done-well/610676/7 "2012-01-26T21:16:16Z")
I thought Zach Efron did a decent job in _17 Again_ playing someone who’s Matthew Perry’s age. Kind of a throwaway movie but I liked his performance. ---
**Author:** ![Noelq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/noelq/32/16438_2.png) [@Noelq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Noelq)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2012, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-old-person-young-body-was-done-well/610676/8 "2012-01-26T22:11:02Z")
In the movie “18 again”, Charlie Schlatter did a very good job of pretending to be George Burns. ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2012, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-old-person-young-body-was-done-well/610676/9 "2012-01-26T22:18:02Z")
::searches IMDB for “19 again”:: ---
**Author:** ![Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellis_Aponte_Jr)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2012, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-old-person-young-body-was-done-well/610676/10 "2012-01-26T22:44:17Z")
**Citizen Kane** comes to mind. ---
**Author:** ![Sister\_Vigilante](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@Sister\_Vigilante](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sister_Vigilante)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2012, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-old-person-young-body-was-done-well/610676/11 "2012-01-27T03:03:59Z")
18 Again. That kid really does a good job. The best I’ve seen. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2012, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-old-person-young-body-was-done-well/610676/12 "2012-01-27T03:27:31Z")
_Let Me In_. 12-year-old girl playing a 1000-year-old vampire. She does a pretty good job of it. ---
**Author:** ![drillrod](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@drillrod](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drillrod)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2012, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-old-person-young-body-was-done-well/610676/13 "2012-01-27T14:49:54Z")
I second the naming of Kirsten Dunst in _Interview With A Vampire_. How about Homer, the cranky-ass vampire stuck in a 13 year old body, in the criminally-unappreciated _Near Dark_? ---
**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:** [January 27, 2012, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-old-person-young-body-was-done-well/610676/14 "2012-01-27T14:52:14Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Not a movie, but the latest incarnation of _Doctor Who_, Matt Smith, does a terrific job of playing what is essentially a young man trapped in an old man’s body trapped in a young man’s body. Bowties are cool. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2012, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-old-person-young-body-was-done-well/610676/15 "2012-01-27T15:43:22Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > _Let Me In_. 12-year-old girl playing a 1000-year-old vampire. She does a pretty good job of it. Nitpick… A deleted scene from Let Me In establishes that Abby is only a little over 100. ---
**Author:** ![Rocketeer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocketeer/32/4437_2.png) [@Rocketeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rocketeer)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2012, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-old-person-young-body-was-done-well/610676/16 "2012-01-27T17:04:12Z")
In _Freaky Friday_ Lindsey Lohan, of all people, did a good job of portraying a forty-year-old in a teen body. ---
**Author:** ![AllShookDown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d9b06d/32.png) [@AllShookDown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AllShookDown)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2012, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-old-person-young-body-was-done-well/610676/17 "2012-01-27T20:06:13Z")
I remember liking Vice Versa with Judge Reinhold and Fred Savage much more than Big. I haven’t seen it since the 80’s though. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2012, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-old-person-young-body-was-done-well/610676/18 "2012-01-27T20:13:59Z")
I thought River Phoenix did a fantastic Harrison Ford impression at the beginning of **Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade**. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2012, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-old-person-young-body-was-done-well/610676/19 "2012-01-27T20:16:39Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > Nitpick… > > A deleted scene from Let Me In establishes that Abby is only a little over 100. Ah interesting - of course I just made up the age since it was never mentioned in the film proper; I remember her saying only that she was in fact “very old”. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_Prize](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d2c977/32.png) [@Sir\_Prize](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_Prize)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2012, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-old-person-young-body-was-done-well/610676/20 "2012-01-27T21:10:25Z")
The was an episode of Highlander with an old immortal with a young teenage body pretending to be an innocent. He played it well.