I'm 17 but I look 28

[xfivebyfive]

I talk about this a lot with my mom and it gave me the idea to start this thread. In so many shows, almost all really, they cast actors who are a good 5 to even 10 years older then the character they are playing. I think it definitely affects how we view a fifteen year old if they're really being played by someone in their early twenties.

This is true in Buffy as well. Look at the difference in age between the character and actors from when we first see them:

Buffy 16 - Sarah 19
Willow 16 - Alyson 22
Xander 16 - Nicholas 25
Cordelia 16 - Charisma 26
Faith 17 - Eliza 17
Dawn 14 - Michelle 15

Now I love the cast of Buffy and I wouldn't change the actors. But I do think it had an affect on some of the storylines how much older the actors were then their characters. Like in season 5/6 when Buffy is supposed to be 20/21 taking care of her sick mother and then her younger sister all alone, if Sarah looked like she did in season 2 it would be even more heartbreaking because you remember just how young Buffy really is to be doing that all alone.

I think it really shows when Eliza comes on the show in season 3 and she looks the age they all are supposed to look. Yes Eliza is a mature looking 17/18 year old but even so (particularly in FHT) she makes all the others look their age and how different a child, Faith/Eliza, looks in comparison to Buffy and everyone else.

Or when they bring in Dawn. They look like a bunch of 25/30 year olds in comparison to Michelle who is only 15. It also makes Xander/Dawn seem creepy when it shouldnt be. Its not an outrageous difference between Xander and Dawn...there is a huge difference between Nicholas, who was almost 30, and Michelle.

Also in Angel all the other characters beside Cordelia are in their late twenties, Cordelia is supposed to be 19 but because Charisma is the same age as like David and Alexis it doesn't feel like she's younger. Another reason I think her characters growth was so necessary because in a more adult setting Charisma's age really showed and Cordelia needed to mature.

So anyway my point is what effect do you think the actors ages had on your viewing of the show? Are there any storylines where it really stands out to you?

 

[Chosen Enemy]

I think Sarah, in the first seasons (the high school seasons) looked very young. She was pretty much at college age, but could have been a high school student.
Eliza didn't seem 18 to me, even if she was close. She always looked older to me.

I think it also has to do with the timing. Look at all of the 90's shows (maybe just in the American shows), all the "kids" were really 30. By that time Sarah was the youngest, the closest to Buffy's age. I mean, 3 years is pretty good for the 90's trend of 30 year old actors playing high school kids.

And Michelle, it wasn't really a big difference, the problem was they wrote Dawn as 10 year old. And Michelle was 15, so it looked pretty bad IMO. But that wasn't even the 90's.

Most of them, I agree with you, though. And that's a thing that always bothers me too.

 

[xfivebyfive]

I think Sarah, in the first seasons (the high school seasons) looked very young. She was pretty much at college age, but could have been a high school student.
Eliza didn't seem 18 to me, even if she was close. She always looked older to me.

I think it also has to do with the timing. Look at all of the 90's shows (maybe just in the American shows), all the "kids" were really 30. By that time Sarah was the youngest, the closest to Buffy's age. I mean, 3 years is pretty good for the 90's trend of 30 year old actors playing high school kids.

And Michelle, it wasn't really a big difference, the problem was they wrote Dawn as 10 year old. And Michelle was 15, so it looked pretty bad IMO. But that wasn't even the 90's.

Most of them, I agree with you, though. And that's a thing that always bothers me too.

Sarah was very close, she was so young and adorable in season 1. I dont really have a problem with it but I just wonder about it a lot lol like how sad it would be to see Sarah from season 1 in season 4 if Buffy looked like that when Parker did that to her I would feel even worse for her because she looks like a baby. Its the little things like that I mean.

Michelle was fine I dont mind like a year difference or so its when its like 4-8 years thats it like damn lol. But yeah Dawn suffered and it shows because she was written to be 10.

Eliza, to me, looks very young at the beginning of season 3 and then suddenly much older in the later episodes of season 3. But she actually is only 17/18 thats one of the things thats great about casting the correct age. To me even a mature looking 18 year old is more convincing then a young looking 23. Because there are moments where you can see wow she really is young, moments when Elizas vulnerability shows and you see she really is only 18. Thats why Buffy(sarah) is so perfect in season 1 she is only 19 shes very young, she has the moments where she still looks like a child.

It seems to be even today though not just in the 90s because look at Glee and One Tree Hill theyre so old its not even funny. Unless you watch like Nick or Disney theyre not really teenagers.

 

[Chosen Enemy]

All shows like Tree Hill have old people playing youngsters, it's like a rule! 😀

Sometimes it depends on the script and the way the characters are written. Dawn is a good example. A character can be written very old or very young.

 

[Enemies]

Well i never knew Dawn was written as a ten year old she was always 15 ish to me even when she started out so casting older characters can be misleading to fans that don't know the full facts at the tine. Cordelia always seemed the appropriate age to me, but whenshe joined Angel seemed to age years .

 

[VisionGirl]

What would be the legal ramifications of an under-18 actor doing sex scenes? I always wonder if that's part of why they cast older actors, other than there's simply more of them available post-high school.

For me personally, because I'm older than most members here, it adds to my enjoyment. But really it's the writing that does it for me. The writers are clearly not teenagers, so while they get the teenage angst & struggles, the language the characters use (their vocabulary and cultural/pop/historical references) are not typical of other teen shows. That, and they're big geeks. So it's all good to me! 🙂

 

[BuffyElevated]

Sarah never seemed that much older than her years for her role, because she was so baby-faced when she first started. But Nick and Charisma never looked like high schoolers to me, and at times when they had too much makeup on Aly, she didn't look like one either, despite her "cute" clothes and her high-pitched voice.
It always bothers me when they cast actors who are way older than the age they're supposed to be playing. Kids are very impressionable, and when they like a show a lot, they will try to emulate what they see in their favorite characters and try to be like that person. I know I sure as Hell did it with Buffy when I was in high school. I tried to dress like her, wear my hair like her, and I beat myself up over the fact that I just could not- no matter how much I tried- get my body to look like hers. I think it's slightly dangerous, because in cases like Charisma's, she had curves that no teenage girl is supposed to have because she was a woman, and not a high-school girl. Kids would see her and go "Why don't I look like that?" and maybe not realize she was as old as she was.

 

[white avenger]

I agree, if I were casting a television show, with any hopes of having more than a single season's run, if at all possible, I would try to cast all of my characters with actors as close to their age as possible, and preferably even a year or two younger. Unfortunately, while it's not an absolute, it's a strong generality that a few extra years experience makes for better actors, so you just have to do the best that you can, and hope that your actors are able to retain their youthful looks throughout the run of the series, especially if the characters in question are supposed to be immortal. Makeup and camera angles can only cover up so much.

On the other hand, given the degree of computer technology that has been developed over the last few years, and the possibilities in the near future, actors, young, old, or anywhere in between, just might soon become totally unnecessary, and we won't even notice the difference.

 

[NY State of Mind]

Wait....they're not really those ages? Thank god! I thought I was in the same field with Angel 😛

But yeah I know what your saying...only the first season they can kind of pass. There is mature looking 16 yr olds but its not common for them to look in their 20s.

 

[WileyDairyGnome]

Well at least I'm not the only one. 😛 I'm 17 but I could pass for 14 or 15.

But anyways, I figured the actors were older than their characters. I could tell that Charisma was older than 16 year old Cordy.

 

[PrincessBuffy16]

To me, SMG seemed like she could pass for a HS students, especially in season 1. Alyson also, in the earlier seasons. I never bought Charisma looking like a teen, though.

I'm 18, and I look like I'm 16. With this short hair, I could pull of a 14 year old. Kinda sad.

 

[Hale Caesar]

What would be the legal ramifications of an under-18 actor doing sex scenes? I always wonder if that's part of why they cast older actors, other than there's simply more of them available post-high school.

For me personally, because I'm older than most members here, it adds to my enjoyment. But really it's the writing that does it for me. The writers are clearly not teenagers, so while they get the teenage angst & struggles, the language the characters use (their vocabulary and cultural/pop/historical references) are not typical of other teen shows. That, and they're big geeks. So it's all good to me! 🙂

For someone under 18 to do a sex scene they need to have a parent or guardian present. Remember McLovin in Superbad? He needed his mom in the room when he filmed his sex scene...awkward lol

Also, correct me if i'm wrong, but it's better to cast actors over 18 because the show is SAG, which means they can work longer hours. Someone who is under 18 can only work a certain amount of hours, and has to be in schoool while filming. It's just a lot easier to cast people over 18

 

[VisionGirl]

For someone under 18 to do a sex scene they need to have a parent or guardian present. Remember McLovin in Superbad? He needed his mom in the room when he filmed his sex scene...awkward lol

Also, correct me if i'm wrong, but it's better to cast actors over 18 because the show is SAG, which means they can work longer hours. Someone who is under 18 can only work a certain amount of hours, and has to be in schoool while filming. It's just a lot easier to cast people over 18

Oh, that's true, I hadn't thought about child labor laws. I know that they had some looong days filming Buffy.

 

[Marisa]

I don't see many shows that cast people that are the age. I know Majandra who played Maria Deluca on Roswell was actually still 17 I think when the show started along with James who plays Nathan on One Tree Hill. Although I think most of the cast looked young on Roswell anyway back on point.

It is easier to me to think of the cast as younger in the early season but once they start getting past high school or sometimes even in high school you start to notice ages and I am saying this for all shows. For example Nicholas looks way older today so if Buffy was still on for a while longer than seven seasons and there were no time jumps it would have been weird to picture him as a 25 year old even. I think casting older actors is better for the industry because of the working laws like someone pointed out but sometimes they don't look believable or people try to look like them.

Overall if the actor is good I don't have a problem with it. One of the reasons though that I like Skins UK so much is that the kids are actually young and you really feel that they are the age they are portraying.

 

[Willow-Tree]

I think Sarah, in the first seasons (the high school seasons) looked very young. She was pretty much at college age, but could have been a high school student.
Eliza didn't seem 18 to me, even if she was close. She always looked older to me.

I think it also has to do with the timing. Look at all of the 90's shows (maybe just in the American shows), all the "kids" were really 30. By that time Sarah was the youngest, the closest to Buffy's age. I mean, 3 years is pretty good for the 90's trend of 30 year old actors playing high school kids.

And Michelle, it wasn't really a big difference, the problem was they wrote Dawn as 10 year old. And Michelle was 15, so it looked pretty bad IMO. But that wasn't even the 90's.

Most of them, I agree with you, though. And that's a thing that always bothers me too.

Um, Dawn was 13 in Season Five, because in Season Seven she was entering her first year of high school, which would make her 15. I've never heard that she was supposed to be 10 years old.

 

[Chosen Enemy]

Um, Dawn was 13 in Season Five, because in Season Seven she was entering her first year of high school, which would make her 15. I've never heard that she was supposed to be 10 years old.

No, actually Dawn was 14. Dawn said "I'm 14, I'm old enough to be a babysitter". In season 7 she was 16.
The original character was meant to be younger, but after casting Michelle they changed that.

 

[Icarium]

So anyway my point is what effect do you think the actors ages had on your viewing of the show? Are there any storylines where it really stands out to you?

No effect other than some meta hilarity like Amy denouncing Jenny as too old for Xander in B, B and despite the actresses being the same age or Wesley thinking Cordelia is a teacher. Unless the age difference is really extreme, I would take a good actor over the right age actor any day.

 

[kittenpoker]

For someone under 18 to do a sex scene they need to have a parent or guardian present. Remember McLovin in Superbad? He needed his mom in the room when he filmed his sex scene...awkward lol

Really?

that's funny.


I think it makes sense, in a way, that the actors tend to be older... they go through some pretty mature situations... I think it would feel weird if they were the ages they played...

But it probably skews perception of teenagers...

I don't know.

 

[caritas08]

I kind of like older actors playing teens because it often makes the characters act or seem more mature (which I think is needed more in "teen" shows). I'm so tired of everything from summer youth camps to high school rallies to Disney Channel shows portraying and treating teenagers like they're in preschool. In general, if you treat teens and preteens respectfully like adults they will act like adults and I really appreciated how Buffy didn't talk down to me when I was in high school. Most of us grow and develop from high school but does the essence of who we are really change that much? I personally don't think so.

The only time the age difference stood out to me was in seasons five through seven when the characters resembled thirty year olds instead of the 20/21 year olds they were supposed to be. Still, I think it helped save Buffy from the post high school/college years curse that so many shows suffer from. Joss got the characters out of college pronto and revamped the show into more of an adult Angel-like show.

 

[IloveBuffy]

I think it would have been better if they were the right age or LOOKED the age of the character. Cordelia was just rediculas. She was a great character and the acting was good so i can't imagine her any other way now. But i think overall the show would have been better if they looked the right age and cut back on the sex scenes. But, if you keep all the sex then cast older people. Xander was way too old looking. He was meant to be an unpopular 16 yr old geeky boy with his nerdy female friend. Instead he looked like a god damn HUGE and i don't see how anyone would have picked on him or his friend.