13 Celebrities Who Played Characters With Ages Very Different From Their Own

They say looks can be deceiving and Hollywood knows that better than anyone. It’s not uncommon to see actresses and actors in their 30s playing teenagers and young people playing 40-year-olds. What happens is that a person’s age is nothing more than a number and when choosing an actor or actress for a role, that number goes into the background and makes room for other more important aspects, including profile that is being sought, the talent of the actors and the possibilities they have to transform themselves into characters in works of fiction.

Thinking about it, the awesome.club made a list of 13 actors and actresses who played characters who were either older or younger than they were.

In 2019, Saoirse Ronan played the rebellious Jo March in Little Women, the second of four sisters. At the beginning of the story, Jo plays a 15-year-old teenager. But the actress was born in 1994 and at the time she was already 25 years old, although she didn’t look it.

In Maze Runner — Run or Die, we see a brave group of young people struggling to survive in a giant labyrinth from which it is almost impossible to escape. One of the highlights of the group is Newt, second in command of this microsociety. Throughout the saga, the character was played by British actor Thomas Brodie-Sangster, who at that time, despite his sweet and very young features, was 24 years old.

In the movie Pitch Perfect, Amy is one of the new contralto-style singers to join the all-female group Barden Bellas. And she enters in style, promising to revolutionize and break all kinds of stereotypes. The role was in the hands of Australian comedian Rebel Wilson, who is 32 years old and in the film plays a young woman of just 19.

In Tron: Legacy, Jeff Bridges surprised the world by playing two roles. On the one hand, the older and rather aged Kevin Flynn, a programmer who had the misfortune of being trapped in his own video game; on the other, Clu, a digital clone of himself who has an obsession with perfection in the virtual world and was created by Kevin himself based on his image from a few years ago.

Actors and actresses don’t always play characters who are younger than they are; there are many cases where the reverse happens, and this is a good example. In the movie Monster — Killing Desire, in addition to aging and facing long makeup sessions to get into the skin of the character, the young and beautiful Charlize Theron also had to shave her eyebrows and had to use a dental prosthesis. The sacrifice paid off, because she won the Oscar for best actress.

Of the many plots that develop during the Game of Thrones series, one that stands out is that of Joffrey, a young and premature 14-year-old king who represents cruelty and despotism very well. The role was played by Jack Gleeson, who surprised not only the viewers, but also the critics, who were very impressed with his impactful interpretation.

In Preciosa — Uma História de Esperança, actress Gabourey Sibide, then 26 years old, began her career after being selected among 300 women to play the role of Preciosa (Precious, in English), a 16-year-old teenager with a history of of dramatic life and who suffered physical and mental abuse from her mother.

In The Fault in Our Stars, Hazel Grace Lancaster is a 16-year-old teenager with terminal thyroid cancer. She begins the story quite depressed, but, due to a series of events very well sewn into the plot, she falls back in love with life. The role was brilliantly interpreted by actress Shailene Woodley, who during the recordings was 23 years old.

Another actor who played an older character was Marlon Brando in the award-winning classic The Godfather. In the film, he brought to life the feared and at the same time beloved Italian mobster Don Vito Corleone. The author of the story, Mario Puzo, had no doubt that the character should be played by Brando. Despite the many criticisms and the many ups and downs, he didn’t give up until the actor was confirmed as part of the cast.

The new Spider-Man saga had a completely different cast from the previous one, with many faces that at that time were still unknown. For the role of Gwen Stacy, classmate and first love of Peter Parker, there were some candidates, among them Emma Roberts and Hilary Duff, but in the end the chosen one ended up being Emma Stone, who at the time was 24 years old.

Brave Tobias Eaton “Four” was given his nickname, “Four,” by his instructor because he had four fears: fear of heights, fear of hurting innocent people, claustrophobia, and fear of his father. In the film Divergent, the character is only 18 years old and the role was played by actor Theo James, who at that time was more than a decade older.

Monique Coleman was one of the oldest actresses in the High School Musical cast and finished filming at the age of 28. The actress played Taylor McKessie, a 16-year-old, studious and applied teenager who became the best friend of the protagonist.

Blaine Anderson is one of the characters on Glee, one of the most successful series in history. He is one of the singers and leader of The Warblers, direct rivals of the protagonist group of the series, the Glee Club. Actor Darren Criss was in charge of playing Blaine. He had already applied for other roles and had been turned down. He didn’t give up, he kept trying and ended up joining the squad.

Who are your favorite actors? And what roles did they play that made you fall in love? Tell in the comments.