To hate it when much older actresses play teenage characters?

[Chamomileteaplease]

Why do directors/casting directors do this?? I cannot understand it.

On the Railway Children thread someone said that the girl who played Phyllis was 20!

And in How to Build a Girl I looked up the main character who was supposed to be 16 and it was all about her being 16 really and the actress was 27 .

Can anyone tell me why this happens? Surely it detracts from the plot/message/character?

I agree that in cases where a 15 year old would be at school, there's no harm in an 18 year old playing the part.

Casting directors take it too far though. A 27 year old may look very young with no signs of 'ageing' but yet still not look 15 or 16. So I agree with you apart from where very young teens should be at school

Mama Mia anyone? Meryl Streep has a teenage daughter from a teenage fling? "Donna's carefree youth"

Meryl Streep is 71 now, so would have been around 58ish - shes an amazing actress, but no way...( daughter was a 20-year-old bride-to-be )

Why only actresses?

Quite, although I don't have a major problem either way. What's much worse is aging male actors starring with much younger female actors, as if the young women are naturally attracted to their aging bodies. That is truly gross.

@VictoriousSockPuppet

Could you tell? If not why the fuck does it matter?

Acting is pretend

But if it is pretend then why do we get into such a tizz when actors with the "wrong colour" play a particular part (like Will Smith) ? Or when straight actors play gay characters (or indeed vice versa) ?

And that's before we get to the hysteria about a woman playing Dr. Who.

Perhaps we should have films with more good parts for older women? Then they wouldn't have to!

I don't mind young adults playing teens in teen dramas or in a film with gritty themes.
As a pp said while it's ok to see it as a film and important to remember that some teenagers do go through worse than we can imagine.
It would be morally dubious to insist on actual 14 year olds playing rape victims or even that their first kisses are filmed with an audience.
But I hate the inconsistency between casting and storylines! A plot where the protagonists are supposed to have been undergraduates together 20 years ago, with a clear 15 yr age range between them!
Drives me mad!!

If they can get away with youthful looks and experience then why not?

Cher as Meryl Streep mother in mama Mia.

Audrey and Gail in Corrie.

You just have to not over think these things.

My late DGM taught Jenny aguter on the set of the original railway children film

Whilst I get that, it’s still a bit dubious that a 35 year old had an 18 year old son.

Have you read the book? Connell's mum is meant to be that young, she had him at 17.

@NameChange84

The big issue there though was the passage of time, then playing from teens to mid 20s so the parents playing mid 30's to mid 40s

Whilst I get that, it’s still a bit dubious that a 35 year old had an 18 year old son.

The character was a teen mum though.

My friends son was is and actor from young teen and found it really difficult to get parts when he was an older teen because they always went to older more experienced actors who could pass for younger.

It’s icky. It feeds the idea that teen girls are basically women and therefore fuckable rather than almost grow children.
so why is it the same for teenage boys

Sally Thomsett was 20 when she filmed The Railway Children; three years older than Jenny Agutter who played her older sister. According to Wiki she was banned from revealing her true age, smoking, drinking, driving or being seen with her boyfriend during filming. I first watched it as a very young child, strange to think it was only a few years before she was in Man About the House.

Bea Arthur was the oldest of The Golden Girls, they had to age Estelle Getty with her dress and make up to make them believable as mother and daughter.

Agree with Meryl Streep in Mamma Mia! I remember reading a review at the time that said she was too old for the role, I guess they needed a big well-known star to get the backing though.

I’m sure I remember reading that when the original 90210 was shown in the ‘90s that the actress who played Andrea was 32, playing a 16/17 year old.

Whilst I get that, it’s still a bit dubious that a 35 year old had an 18 year old son. She was meant to be a ten mom. That age gap is 7 years, perfectly on point I'd say.

was thinking more of teen dramas and horror films, green your back to teen work laws and inappropriate scenes

Julia Sawalha in P&P was ridiculously old for the part and encapsulates one of the main issues I have with over-aging people - that a lot of the point of teen based dramas is that they are young and usually inexperienced - so you sympathise with and understand their actions somewhat. But when you have a fully grown man/woman clearly in their mid twenties screaming that their parents "just don't understand them" or playing an innocent virgin or sulking because they got a bad result in a test or being sarky to their teachers it just looks a bit embarrassing and ridiculous.

Not sure why you have focussed only on actresses though....

I think everyone understands the child labour laws point. But that doesn't mean directors couldn't cast an eighteen y/o to play a sixteen-eighteen year old character, not a twenty eight year old!

Gabrielle Carteris was 29 playing a 16 year old on BH90210 but she lied about her age to get the job (said she was 21).
I don't mind older actresses playing young characters as long as it's convincing eg. The actress who played Lane Kim in Gilmore girls was 27 but a very convincing 16year old! On the other hand Stockard Channing, a 33 year old playing a 17 year old was ridiculous and not at all convincing. And Florence Pugh in the latest adaption of Little Women does not look anywhere near 13 (she's 22)
With all the rules for actors under 18 I can see why casting directors want to use over 18s but sometimes it's a stretch too far!

Nicola Coughlan (Claire in Derry Girls is 33.

There are loads of talented actors who are 18/19, have finished education and are old enough that child labour laws don’t apply, who can’t get a job or even an audition because all the teen roles go to 28 year olds.

Mostly it because the industry in this country is controlled by a handful of agents who have the monopoly, if you’re not with one of those agencies you’re not even allowed to audition for most big roles. And those agencies won’t consider actors unless they’ve graduated from a major drama school (which rules out anyone under 21/22) unless they have a substantial body of work, or have a personal/family connection. There’s a ton of nepotism in the industry.

When the director of the 90s Pride and Prejudice wanted to find a 16yr old girl to play Darcy’s little sister he asked a mate who had a 16yr old daughter - who was not an actress and had no interest in acting - if his daughter wanted the role because he either couldn’t find or couldn’t be bothered trying to find someone age-appropriate who actually was an actress. Of course actors and aspiring actors hear nepotism stories like this and think, what’s the point?

Adults aren't subject to child labour laws.

It isn’t usually to do with child labour laws. Productions could easily cast teen roles with actors who are 18 and thus not subject to those restrictions, but for various reasons they tend to cast actors in their mid-late 20s or even 30s instead.

There are loads of younger children starring in TV shows and movies so child labour laws aren’t that big a barrier. 14-18 tends to be a tricky age as kids of that age have exams, parents want them to focus on their education, they might be reconsidering their career choices, and puberty throws up all sorts of problems. Many child actors who become adult actors take a career break around late teens.

@GreyishDays I think it’s Rizzo who was definitely 30-something isn’t it?

I don't see the problem. Older = being able to work a longer day and usually will be better actors/ have more acting experience.

Perhaps the acting in Harry Potter might have been better if most of the cast had been played by adults.

@wanderings

Perhaps the acting in Harry Potter might have been better if most of the cast had been played by adults.

So true. The actors might have been a little less entitled too.