Eddy Chen/HBO; IMPRINT ENTERTAINMENT/MAVERICK FILMS/SUMMIT ENTERTAINMENT/NEWCOMB, DEANA/Album; Silver Screen Collection/Getty Entertainer W.C. Fields is often credited with first saying, "Never work with children or animals" because of their unpredictability and ability to upstage anyone else. Kids in showbizalso require on-set tutors and chaperones, and can only work a certain number of hours a day. With such constraints, it almost makes sense to have adults playing much younger characters — to skirt the restrictions of child actors, but also to control when and how they "grow up." When you hire someone post-puberty, there's less risk of an unexpected growth spurt or someone's voice radically changing. Having adult actors play teenagers isn't a new concept, as some actors included on this list starred in movies and sitcoms of the 1970s. However, it does seem that lately, many high schoolers are portrayed by people who are old enough to have graduated from college. Ahead, see which of-age actors have played on-screen youngsters and just how old they were while filming these iconic teen characters. Netflix/Summit Entertainment Character:Edward Cullen, 17 Robert Pattinson's Actual Age at Filming:21 (Twilight) Character:Evan Hansen, 17, high school senior Ben Platt's Actual Age at Filming:27 Character:Ruby "Rue" Bennett, 17, high school junior Zendaya's Actual Age at Filming:22 (season 1) HBO Character:Maddy Perez, 17, high school student Alexa Demie's Actual Age at Filming:28–29 (season 1) Paramount/Courtesy Everett Collection Character:Regina George, high school junior Rachel McAdams' Actual Age at Filming:26 Jojo Whilden/Paramount Character:Regina George, high school junior Reneé Rapp's Actual Age at Filming:23 Shane Marvey/The CW Character: Josie McCoy (of Josie & the Pussycats), high school sophomore Ashleigh Murray's Actual Age at Filming:28 (season 1) Character:Jughead Jones, 16, high school sophomore Cole Sprouse's Actual Age at Filming:24 (season 1) Paramount/Courtesy Everett Collection Character:Dionne Davenport, high school junior Stacey Dash's Actual Age at Filming:27–28 Paramount Pictures/Courtesy: Everett Collection. Character:Sandy Olsson, 18, high school senior Olivia Newton-John's Actual Age at Filming:28–29 Paramount Pictures/Alamy Stock Photo Character:Betty Rizzo, 18, high school senior Stockard Channing's Actual Age at Filming:33 Character:Steve Harrington, 17, high school junior Joe Keery's Actual Age at Filming:23 (season 1) Paul Drinkwater/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Character:Tim Riggins, high school junior Taylor Kitsch's Actual Age at Filming:25 (season 1) ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Character:Arthur "The Fonz" Fonzarelli, high school dropout who later enrolls in night school Henry Winkler's Actual Age at Filming:28 (season 1) Character:Paxton Hall-Yoshida, 17, high school junior Darren Barnet's Actual Age at Filming:29 (season 1) Murray Close/Getty Character:Moaning Myrtle, 14, third-year student at Hogwarts at the time of her death Shirley Henderson's Actual Age at Filming:36 (Chamber of Secrets) The CW/Courtesy Everett Collection Character:Lane Kim, 16, high school sophomore Keiko Agena's Actual Age at Filming:27 (season 1) Moviestore/Shutterstock Character:Isis, high school senior Gabrielle Union's Actual Age at Filming:27 Getty Character:Cordelia Chase, 16, high school sophomore Charisma Carpenter's Actual Age at Filming:27 (season 1) Character:John B. Routledge, 17, high school junior Chase Stokes' Actual Age at Filming:27 (season 1) Character:Emily Fields, 16, high school sophomore Shay Mitchell's Actual Age at Filming:23 (season 1) Character:Jenna Marshall, 16, high school sophomore Tammin Sursok's Actual Age at Filming:26 (season 1) Character:Elena Gilbert, 17, high school junior Nina Dobrev's Actual Age at Filming:20 (season 1) Character:Stefan Salvatore, 17 Paul Wesley's Actual Age at Filming:27 (season 1) Character:Damon Salvatore, 25 Ian Somerhalder's Actual Age at Filming:30 (season 1) Character:Derek Reynolds, senior in high school Sean Patrick Thomas' Actual Age at Filming:30 Character:Carrie White, 16, high school senior Sissy Spacek's Actual Age at Filming:25–26 Character:Frances "Baby" Houseman, 17, recent high school graduate Jennifer Grey's Actual Age at Filming:27 Character:Napoleon Dynamite, 16, high school student Jon Heder's Actual Age at Filming:26 Character:Susanna Kaysen, 18 Winona Ryder's Actual Age at Filming:27 Character:Cameron Frye, 18, high school senior Alan Ruck's Actual Age at Filming:29 Character:Cecile Caldwell, 15, high school freshman Selma Blair's Actual Age at Filming:27 Character:Jess Bhamra, 18 Parminder Nagra's Actual Age at Filming:26 Character:Andrea Zuckerman, 16, high school junior Gabrielle Carteris' Actual Age at Filming:29 (season 1) Character:Scott Thorson, 18 Matt Damon's Actual Age at Filming:42 Columbia TriStar Television/Courtesy Everett Collection Character:Andie McPhee, 16, high school sophomore Meredith Monroe's Actual Age at Filming:29 (season 2) Columbia TriStar Television/Courtesy Everett Collection Character:Jack McPhee, 17, high school sophomore Kerr Smith's Actual Age at Filming:26 (season 2) Disney Channel/Courtesy: Everett Collection Character:Jackson, 16, high school student Jason Earles' Actual Age at Filming:28 (season 1) FOX Image Collection via Getty Character:Finn Hudson, 16, high school sophomore Cory Monteith's Actual Age at Filming:27 (season 1) Jamie Trueblood/Columbia Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection Character:Peter Parker/Spider-Man, 17, high school junior Andrew Garfield's Actual Age at Filming:27 Character:Payton Hobart, 18, high school senior Platt's Actual Age at Filming:26 (season 1) Nicole Rivelli/Netflix Character:Astrid Sloan, 18, high school senior Lucy Boynton's Actual Age at Filming:25 (season 1) Read the original article onPeople
