Here's one of the most fascinating features of high school dramas: most of the time, it is adult actors who are cast to play the angst-driven teenage characters in movies.
Welcome to Teen Drama 101, where high school hallways are often filled with adult performers.
Some actors manage to effortlessly channel their inner teenager, blending in well with the lockers and lunchrooms, making you forget that they are old enough to pay taxes. But on the flip side, there are others who are desperately trying to convince the audience they are a teenager.
Below are some of the actors cast to play teenage characters, with some being convincing and others being cringe-worthy.
#1 The Entire Cast Of Grease
When Grease hit the big screen in 1978, it was a high school musical like no other.
Audiences fell in love with the antics of Rydell High. But here's the twist—those "teenagers" were more suited for a reunion than a prom!
John Travolta, aka Danny Zuko, was 23 when the movie was filmed, and he was younger than most of his other castmates. Meanwhile, the late Olivia Newton-John, who played the beloved Sandy, turned 29 while filming Grease. She was about a decade older than her character’s age.
The biggest surprise? Stockard Channing, the sassy Rizzo, was a cool 33 and the oldest of all the main characters of the film.
“[Producer Allan Carr] showed up on the set with a brown pencil and started dotting freckles on my nose so I would look younger,” Stockard told Vanity Fair. “I said, ‘I don’t look younger! I just look dirtier!’”
Actor Jeff Conaway, who played Rizzo's love interest Kenickie, was 26 at the time.
