# Oldest TV Teen **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 20, 2009, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldest-tv-teen/497077 "2009-05-20T15:46:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2009, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldest-tv-teen/497077/1 "2009-05-20T15:46:46Z")
When I started the [prettiest teen thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=518267) I started wondering who the oldest person to regularly play a teen in a tv series was. This should probably get split off into two categories. Oldest person to be hired to play a teen and oldest person still playing a teen at the end of a series’ run. People come and go so that might not be the same person. Danny Masterson was a full 30 at the end of _That 70’s Show_, although high school graduation was a couple of years earlier in the series. Can we break 30? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2009, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldest-tv-teen/497077/2 "2009-05-20T15:52:49Z")
Gabrielle Carteris was 29 when Beverly Hills 90210 started in 1990. That I know this factoid fills me with shame. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2009, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldest-tv-teen/497077/3 "2009-05-20T15:59:12Z")
Of some minor relevance is Stockard Channing playing a teenage high-scool student in the 1978 film _Grease_. She was 33 at the time. ---
**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:** [May 20, 2009, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldest-tv-teen/497077/4 "2009-05-20T16:03:00Z")
Nicholas Brendon was 26 when he was first hired to play the 16 year old Xander in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. ---
**Author:** ![Saltire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saltire/32/553_2.png) [@Saltire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saltire)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2009, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldest-tv-teen/497077/5 "2009-05-20T16:06:32Z")
Charisma Carpenter was, I believe, 26 when she began playing a high school sophomore on _Buffy the Vampire Slayer._ ---
**Author:** ![WormTheRed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/bbe5ce/32.png) [@WormTheRed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WormTheRed)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2009, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldest-tv-teen/497077/6 "2009-05-20T16:17:50Z")
[Vanessa Marcil](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000522/) - but maybe they weren’t teens anymore when she stared in 90210. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2009, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldest-tv-teen/497077/7 "2009-05-20T16:19:58Z")
The “kids” in _Welcome Back, Kotter_ were all past their teenage years when the show started. John Travolta was 21, Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs was 22, Robert Hegyes was 24, and Ron Palillo was 26. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2009, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldest-tv-teen/497077/8 "2009-05-20T16:22:46Z")
Kristen Bell was 24 when she first played Veronica Mars. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2009, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldest-tv-teen/497077/9 "2009-05-20T16:24:34Z")
Henry Winkler was already 29 when he first played Arthur Fonzarelli. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Carrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@Captain\_Carrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Carrot)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2009, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldest-tv-teen/497077/10 "2009-05-20T16:26:40Z")
Dick Clark? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2009, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldest-tv-teen/497077/11 "2009-05-20T16:29:56Z")
I don’t think Fonz was supposed to be a teen. He was not in school, he worked as a mechanic. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2009, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldest-tv-teen/497077/12 "2009-05-20T16:30:21Z")
Jason Earles was born in 1977, which made him twenty-nine when he began playing teen-aged Jackson Stewart on _Hannah Montana_. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2009, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldest-tv-teen/497077/13 "2009-05-20T16:40:51Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > I don’t think Fonz was supposed to be a teen. He was not in school, he worked as a mechanic. He was a drop-out. Of course, being a drop-out doesn’t necessarily mean he was supposed to be a teen. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2009, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldest-tv-teen/497077/14 "2009-05-20T16:43:52Z")
Becky Wahlstrom was 28 when she portrayed Grace on _[Joan of Arcadia](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0367345/)_. Kind of makes her kissing scenes with Michael Welch, who was 16 at the time, a little oogy, don’t you think? ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2009, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldest-tv-teen/497077/15 "2009-05-20T16:54:09Z")
It always seemed to me that Fonz was supposed to be at least 3-5 years older than Richie and the other kids. That’s why they looked up to him. ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2009, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldest-tv-teen/497077/16 "2009-05-20T17:03:36Z")
The entire cast of The Kids in the Hall… ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2009, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldest-tv-teen/497077/17 "2009-05-20T17:03:43Z")
Nancy Cartwright was 32 when she first started voicing Bart Simpson. She’s 51 now. ---
**Author:** ![Chez\_Guevara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/aeb1de/32.png) [@Chez\_Guevara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chez_Guevara)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2009, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldest-tv-teen/497077/18 "2009-05-20T17:08:30Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > Of some minor relevance is Stockard Channing playing a teenage high-scool student in the 1978 film _Grease_. She was 33 at the time. If **Exapno** hadn’t specified ‘TV’ and ‘series’ together with other restrictive criteria it would have given me an opportunity to mention Robert Redford (48) briefly playing his character Roy Hobbs as a teenager in _The Natural_. As it is, I can’t in all fairness give out this information. ---
**Author:** ![thirdname](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@thirdname](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thirdname)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2009, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldest-tv-teen/497077/19 "2009-05-20T17:11:34Z")
Regarding Buffy, I don’t know how old Spike was supposed to be when he was turned, but James Marsters was in his mid-30s when he first appeared on the show. ---
**Author:** ![want2know](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/50afbb/32.png) [@want2know](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/want2know)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2009, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldest-tv-teen/497077/20 "2009-05-20T17:15:16Z")
I know the OP is about TV, but if I may go off on the movie tangent… Robert Carradine and Curtis Armstrong were both 30 when _Revenge of the Nerds_ came out; as college freshmen, they would have been 18 at the oldest. And P. J. Soles played a high school student in _Carrie_(26) and _Rock ‘n’ Roll High School_(29). [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldest-tv-teen/497077.md?page=2)