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?

The Graduate...
Anne Bancroft playing the mother was 36
Dustin Hoffman playing aged 21 was 30
Katharine Ross playing Anne Bancroft's daughter was 27!

@OptimisticSix thank you! Glad someone sees what I mean in that particular instance.

Why? She stayed 16 throughout the film I think. The actress in her school uniform just looked ridiculous.

And she was American I think. Why not use a girl from Wolverhampton who could be far more natural! I suppose accents are another thread though!

In sound of music the woman who played Liesl was the same age or similar to Julie Andrews (who was meant to be her nanny and at least 9 years older).

Helen wasnt Jim Robinson's mum she was his MIL.
Yes but she was only 28 years older than Paul who was her grandson so who's mum she was is slightly irrelevant!

But then you have My So Called Life where Clare Danes was 12/13 when shooting it and Jared Leto was 21

I mean, I would have been quite thrilled to be snogging Jared Leto when I was 13, but as an adult it’s pretty damn creepy.

Yes of course.
Anne was born in 1922, actress was 1930.

Daughter Anne was born in 1940/43. Jim was born 1940, actor 1947.

In both cases the actor/actress was playing 8 years older.
Paul was born 1963, actor in 1958.
Paul was born when his parents were 23 but there were only 11 years between them so the age gap between Anne and Jim was reasonabe given he was the same age as Anne, but Stefan Dennis was too old.

On the other hand Keira Knightly was 17 when she filmed Love Actually and the boy playing Liam Neeson’s son was something like 13.

@SinkGirl They were 14 and 21 and as with the point @Sk1nnyB1tch raises her first 'proper' kiss was onscreeen with him! I think that must be one of the rare occasions when the child actor is actually younger than her character