# Why All the Hemming and Hawing About the Ages of the Harry Potter Kids? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 19, 2003, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-all-the-hemming-and-hawing-about-the-ages-of-the-harry-potter-kids/156114 "2003-02-19T13:37:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2003, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-all-the-hemming-and-hawing-about-the-ages-of-the-harry-potter-kids/156114/1 "2003-02-19T13:37:52Z")
I’ve heard talk here and there about the fact that, at the current rate the _Harry Potter_ films are being made, the three “kids” will be in their early twenties by the time Book 7 is put into film. In a word, _ **SO???** _ Actors in their twenties play teenagers all the time. Furthermore, older teens play adolescents and younger teens all the time. Meet [Amy Davidson](http://us.imdb.com/Name?Davidson,%20Amy), age 23, who plays 15-year-old Kerrie on _Eight Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter_. [Interseting side note]Though she plays a younger character, Amy Davidson is actually five years older than Katey Cuoco, who plays the **older** sister in _Eight Simple Rules…_[/Interesting side note]. Meet [Frankie Muñiz](http://us.imdb.com/Name?Muniz,%20Frankie), age 18, who plays 15-year-old Malcolm on _Malcolm in the Middle_. [Another intersting side note]Frankie is actually about three months older than Justin Berfield, who plays Malcolm’s **older** brother in _Malcolm in the Middle_[/Another intersting side note]. Bottom line is that having actors much older than their characters, particularly when it comes to teens, is nothing new and is actually quite standard in filmmaking. I see no need to hire new, younger actors as the _Harry Potter_ film franchise progresses. I say, keep Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint and the rest of the kids until the franchise is finished. ---
**Author:** ![Guy\_Propski](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/5e9695/32.png) [@Guy\_Propski](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guy_Propski)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2003, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-all-the-hemming-and-hawing-about-the-ages-of-the-harry-potter-kids/156114/2 "2003-02-19T14:05:21Z")
I have no idea why such a big deal is being made about it. I think the producers are getting a bit nervous about locking into these (still) unknowns, and are making all this noise to coverup a possible future change. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2003, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-all-the-hemming-and-hawing-about-the-ages-of-the-harry-potter-kids/156114/3 "2003-02-19T14:16:44Z")
You could also hire different kids, if need be. They already have to replace at least one actor for the full franchise. ---
**Author:** ![Daniel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Daniel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daniel)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2003, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-all-the-hemming-and-hawing-about-the-ages-of-the-harry-potter-kids/156114/4 "2003-02-19T14:58:16Z")
I think the issue is that Amy and Frankie actually look that young (never watched 8 Simple Rules, but Malcolm definitely looks younger than Reese). While just from these two HP movies, you can tell that the kids they cast are skyrocketting through puberty. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2003, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-all-the-hemming-and-hawing-about-the-ages-of-the-harry-potter-kids/156114/5 "2003-02-19T15:18:31Z")
Well if you replaced the kids you _might_ get better actors, but you would definetly get smaller paychecks for those actors. ---
**Author:** ![Edward\_The\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2003, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-all-the-hemming-and-hawing-about-the-ages-of-the-harry-potter-kids/156114/6 "2003-02-19T15:19:53Z")
Isn’t Harry Potter going to get older anyway? I haven’t read but the first book so far but I thought that he was basically going through a new school year every book so he’d be getting older anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2003, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-all-the-hemming-and-hawing-about-the-ages-of-the-harry-potter-kids/156114/7 "2003-02-19T16:54:27Z")
Of course some actors can play younger than they are. But can these particular actors? Daniel Radcliffe, in particular, seems to be growing too fast for the part. But puberty is a strange thing so who knows. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2003, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-all-the-hemming-and-hawing-about-the-ages-of-the-harry-potter-kids/156114/8 "2003-02-19T17:57:16Z")
Well, in the Vienna Boys Choir, when their voice started to shcange, they… Never mind. ---
**Author:** ![Dryga\_Yes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/838e76/32.png) [@Dryga\_Yes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dryga_Yes)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2003, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-all-the-hemming-and-hawing-about-the-ages-of-the-harry-potter-kids/156114/9 "2003-02-19T18:34:12Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Edward The Head \* > \*\*Isn’t Harry Potter going to get older anyway? I haven’t read but the first book so far but I thought that he was basically going through a new school year every book so he’d be getting older anyway. \*\* Yeah, but they’re not making a new movie every year. ---
**Author:** ![Super\_Gnat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@Super\_Gnat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Super_Gnat)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2003, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-all-the-hemming-and-hawing-about-the-ages-of-the-harry-potter-kids/156114/10 "2003-02-19T18:44:42Z")
Nitpick: Frankie Muniz is _17_, according to the imdb. He’s a year younger than me. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2003, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-all-the-hemming-and-hawing-about-the-ages-of-the-harry-potter-kids/156114/11 "2003-02-19T19:46:27Z")
And even at 18 kids don’t learn the difference between subjective and objective case… \>He’s a year younger than me. Here’s the handy hint: finish the sentence: “He’s a year younger than I am.” You wouldn’t say “He’s a year younger than me am”. Just pickin’ nits, digs ---
**Author:** ![Fibber\_McGee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a6a055/32.png) [@Fibber\_McGee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fibber_McGee)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2003, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-all-the-hemming-and-hawing-about-the-ages-of-the-harry-potter-kids/156114/12 "2003-02-19T19:55:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by digs \* > \*\* > You wouldn’t say “He’s a year younger than me am”. > \*\* He would if he were from Bizarro World! No wait, I take that back. The exact translation would be, “He am year older,” you know, because everything is opposite on Bizarro World . . . _ahem_ So hey, how about that Harry Potter? ---
**Author:** ![Violet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/ebca7d/32.png) [@Violet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Violet)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2003, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-all-the-hemming-and-hawing-about-the-ages-of-the-harry-potter-kids/156114/13 "2003-02-19T20:02:36Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by HeyHomie \* > \*\*In a word, _ **SO???** _ \*\* I agree with the **so** … ---
**Author:** ![SC\_Wolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb9ed0/32.png) [@SC\_Wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SC_Wolf)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2003, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-all-the-hemming-and-hawing-about-the-ages-of-the-harry-potter-kids/156114/14 "2003-02-19T20:35:41Z")
Three words (alright, Two words and an initial): Michael J. Fox. He was what, nearly 30, when he played teen time traveler Marty McFly in the two _Back to the Future_ sequels? ---
**Author:** ![Super\_Gnat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@Super\_Gnat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Super_Gnat)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2003, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-all-the-hemming-and-hawing-about-the-ages-of-the-harry-potter-kids/156114/15 "2003-02-19T23:57:25Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by digs \* > \*\*And even at 18 kids don’t learn the difference between subjective and objective case… > > \>He’s a year younger than me. > > Here’s the handy hint: finish the sentence: “He’s a year younger than I am.” > > You wouldn’t say “He’s a year younger than me am”. > > Just pickin’ nits, > digs \*\* Ehh, my English teachers only exptected clarity in our writing. And we weren’t supposed to write our papers in first person, so they never had the chance to give us that particular handy hint. On the plus side, I got a perfect verbal on the SAT, so I think it worked. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tof](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cdc98d/32.png) [@The\_Tof](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tof)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2003, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-all-the-hemming-and-hawing-about-the-ages-of-the-harry-potter-kids/156114/16 "2003-02-20T01:27:55Z")
What’s funny, the actress they hried to play Moaning Myrtle (The ghost who died at Hogwarts while a student there, for the one or two of you who don’t know) is 37. So even the very franchise doesn’t appear to have an issue with using older actors. Apparantly its just a matter what they want to do with the main characters. ---
**Author:** ![gex\_gex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/94ad74/32.png) [@gex\_gex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gex_gex)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2003, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-all-the-hemming-and-hawing-about-the-ages-of-the-harry-potter-kids/156114/17 "2003-02-20T11:55:13Z")
When Daniel Radcliffe gets too old to play Harry, I nominate James Van Der Beek to replace him. ---
**Author:** ![Dunderman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecb155/32.png) [@Dunderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunderman)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2003, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-all-the-hemming-and-hawing-about-the-ages-of-the-harry-potter-kids/156114/18 "2003-02-20T12:11:10Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by SC\_Wolf \* > \*\*Three words (alright, Two words and an initial): > > Michael J. Fox. > > He was what, nearly 30, when he played teen time traveler Marty McFly in the two _Back to the Future_ sequels? \*\* 24 when the first one came out, then 28 and 29. So yeah, he’s a good example. He kept playing teenagers for a while, too. With some hair dye he could still pull it off, I think.