Hollywood routinely casts older actors to play high school kids in both TV and movies - and here's why. Throughout the history of the industry, there are several major examples of productions casting much older actors than who they are playing, but this is especially common in the casting of teenage characters. Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield famously played a high school-age Peter Parker in their respective films when they were actually in their late-20s.
They are far from the only prominent examples of this casting strategy, one that is usually met with confusion by viewers when the age discrepancy is noticed. But, there are actually several reasons why casting directors go in this direction. The latest video from Screen Rant highlights 25 roles for younger characters that adults played, but let's get to the bottom of why these decisions were likely made.
One of the biggest reasons why casting age-appropriate teenagers for major roles isn't the go-to route is due to work restrictions. Since teenagers are not legally adults, they have limitations on how long they can work in a single day. In California, minors are also not allowed to work for more than five days consecutively. There is also the issue of schooling that most minors are still required to complete. So, instead of having the authenticity of an actual teenager in a leading role, most productions would rather elect to cast slightly older so these restrictions do not apply.
The work restrictions are a major hurdle, but there are additional factors that can make casting older actors the preferred route too. If the property requires this teenage character to do a lot of stunts and physical work, the actor playing the part must be insured just in case of an injury. Minors can be more expensive to get insured, so casting slightly older actors can also potentially help keep costs lower.
There is also the notion that older leads have larger demographic appeal too. Anything starring actual teenagers is going to usually skew towards even younger audiences. But, if some older actors fill these roles instead, it could give the property wider appeal, leading to possibly more exposure and success. The decision to cast appropriately or not, though, may have to be a universal choice for some productions. If the property is set in a high school, the cast all need to be around the same age. Not only does this help make it more believable, but it also makes sure that all potential romances would be legal.
Those are some of the biggest reasons why adults are more often than not cast in younger roles. In most cases, these decisions have to be made for the benefit of the production. Plus, there's always the chance that younger actors are not fully committed to these roles or the acting business, so casting adults is a way to avoid that concern.