Though she could almost still pass for a teen today, Stacey Dash was already 27 in the 1995 classic “Clueless.”
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When Sean Penn played high school stoner Jeff Spicoli in “Fast Times at Ridgemont High,” he was 23.
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Sissy Spacek had to convince casting directors that at 27 she could still portray tormented high schooler “Carrie” convincingly.
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Gabrielle Carteris played a teen on “Beverly Hills 90210” despite being 29 years old.
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Alan Ruck may have played a mature teen convincingly since he was mature in real life. When Ruck starred alongside Matthew Broderick in “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” he was already 29.
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Jennifer Lawrence was 23 when she took on the role of teen heroine Katniss Everdeen, while her co-star Josh Hutcherson was rounding 20.
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Liam Hemsworth was 22 playing a teen in the first installment of “The Hunger Games.”
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Ellen Page was 20 when she played a precocious pregnant teen in “Juno.”
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Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johansson were 27 and 23 when they played teenage wannabe queens Anne and Mary Boleyn in “The Other Boleyn Girl.”
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Tobey Maguire was 27 when he first starred as awkward teen-turned-superhero Peter Parker in “Spider-Man.”
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Andrew Garfield was 28 when he took on the Parker role in “The Amazing Spider-Man,” while on-and-offscreen love Emma Stone was 24 when she first took on Gwen Stacy.
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Emile Hirsch played the title role as 18-year-old “Speed Racer” when he was 23.
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Jenna Dewan and Channing Tatum played budding high school dancers in “Step Up” when they were both 26.
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Bynes starred opposite Channing Tatum in “She’s the Man.”
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Jason Biggs was 21 in “American Pie,” while his would-be WebCam gal Shannon Elizabeth was 26.
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Alyson Hannigan was 25 when she played a high school flute enthusiast in “American Pie.”
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Tara Reid was 23 when playing a high school senior in “American Pie,” while co-star Chris Klein was 20.
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Gabrielle Union was 27 when she starred opposite Kirsten Dunst in the high school cheerleading sassfest “Bring It On,” and she’s hardly aged a day since.
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Seth Green played a high school senior in “Can’t Hardly Wait” when he was 24.
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Maybe nobody puts Baby in a corner because Baby wasn’t a baby after all: Jennifer Grey was 27 when she starred as teenager Frances “Baby” Houseman in the classic “Dirty Dancing.”
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Olivia Newton John turned 29 while filming high school musical “Grease,” while co-star John Travolta was 24.
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“Look at me, I’m 33!” Stockard Channing stole the show in “Grease” as Rizzo, Sandy’s best and worst frenemy and fellow high school senior.
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More like old girls: Lacey Chabert and Rachel McAdams were 22 and 25 when “Mean Girls” premiered in 2004.
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Skeet Ulrich, Jamie Kennedy and Matthew Lillard played high school horror nerds in “Scream” … when they were all 26.
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Freddie Prinze Jr. was 23 and playing a high school senior in “She’s All That.”
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When adolescent-themed drama “Dawson’s Creek” premiered in 1998, James Van Der Beek was already 21, while Joshua Jackson and Katie Holmes were each 20. Only 18-year-old Michelle Williams was actually high school-aged.
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“Dawson’s Creek” wasn’t the only place James Van Der Beek flaunted faux youth. In “Varsity Blues,” he and then-26-year-old Paul Walker played high school football stars.
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Curious as to why two Beverly Hills high schoolers had receding hairlines? “90210” stars Ian Ziering and Luke Perry were already 26 and 25 when the show premiered in 1990.
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Chris Colfer was 19 when “Glee” premiered in 2009, but he was far from the eldest cast member playing a high schooler. Lea Michele was already 23, while her on- and offscreen love Cory Monteith was 27.
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Dianna Agron was 23 and Mark Salling 27 when “Glee” premiered in 2009.
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The real gossip from the “Gossip Girl” set? That none of the top-billed stars were close to high school age: When the series premiered, Penn Badgley and Leighton Meester were 21 and Blake Lively 20.
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Ashley Tisdale was 25 when her short-lived high school cheerleading series “Hellcats” premiered in 2010.
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Adam Brody and Benjamin McKenzie played high school pals in “The O.C.,” but in reality, the actors were already 24 and 25.
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Then-on- and offscreen couple Chad Michael Murray and Sophia Bush played high schoolers on “One Tree Hill” despite being 22 and 21 years old, respectively.
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Melissa Joan Hart was 23 when she began her role as “Sabrina the Teenage Witch.” Her co-star Ryan Reynolds, sporting tragic highlights, was the same age.
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Charisma Carpenter was 26 when she began her role as Cordelia, the prissy prom queen on “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” while co-star Nicholas Brendon was 27.
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If the Fonz seemed a little old to be a recent high school dropout on “Happy Days,” that’s because Henry Winkler was 29.
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Jared Leto played high school dreamboat Jordan Catalano on “My So-Called Life” when he was 23.
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When high school football drama “Friday Night Lights” premiered in 2006, Minka Kelly was 26 and Taylor Kitsch was 25.
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Ashton Kutcher and Topher Grace played high school students on “That ’70s Show.” When the series premiered, they were both 20 years old.
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Kutcher and Grace weren’t the only ancient ones on the series. Danny Masterson was 22 when “That ’70s Show” premiered.
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Kristen Bell was 24 when she first began playing teen detective Veronica Mars.
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Though they played conniving teens in “Cruel Intentions,” Ryan Phillippe, Sara Michelle Gellar and Reese Witherspoon were actually 24, 22 and 21.
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Now here’s a woman who never ages. Bianca Lawson is 34 and plays a teen on “Pretty Little Liars.” For some perspective, she also starred as a teen in “Saved By the Bell: The New Class” … in 1993.
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