Age Inconsistency in Casting

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Re: Age Inconsistency in Casting

Post by DragonLight877 »

I think that as long as the actor or actress looks like a teenager its fine. A lot of people bring up the issue where if there is a particularly graphic scene they can't cast anyone under the age of 18, and that makes sense. But over all I really wish the actors and actresses at least looked closer to the age they were supposed to be.
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Post by Falling4Ever »

I think if it's purely for range of an actor, and it doesn't change the plot too much, it's fine. However, when something important to the plot changes, like making Harry's parents and Severus look older than they were supposed to be, it takes away from the idea that they were supposed to do what happened young.
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Post by cookiedough »

Whoever is talented for the job should get it. As long as it's not two decades apart, it's ok. Sometimes there may not be the perfect fit for the job in terms of age for the character. If there is some close in range that can bring the character to life, he/she should get the part.
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Post by Topsey »

I’m in two minds about this. I think having 20 year old playing teenagers leads to a misconception for teens about what they should look like and this is very toxic. However, putting teens into the industry can be damaging to them as well. Its hard to walk the line.
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Post by White Dragon »

The age difference is only a problem when it becomes agonizingly obvious. Most of the time, you won't notice a thing. Some people look too young for their age and vice versa.

Finding a good Actor who suits the role is a difficulty in itself. Hence, Age becomes just a number. Us viewers can only get used to it. *Sigh*
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Post by a_r_egerton »

The 1970s movie Grease is an infamous example of teenagers being played by much older actors. Stockard Channing, for example, was around 34 when she played the character Rizzo -- who was supposed to be a high school senior. Olivia Newton-John, who played the female lead Sandy, was 30 or close to it, while John Travolta was around 23 or 24.
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Post by Georgephilips »

Falling4Ever wrote: 16 May 2020, 20:20 I think if it's purely for range of an actor, and it doesn't change the plot too much, it's fine. However, when something important to the plot changes, like making Harry's parents and Severus look older than they were supposed to be, it takes away from the idea that they were supposed to do what happened young.
Exactly!
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Post by _claudi_ »

It does matter because the energy of a certain age bracket might not match that of a different age bracket.
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Post by monserrat_21 »

I used to think they did that because it was hard to find young talented actors, but after seeing movies and shows where teenagers were played by actual teenagers, like Stranger Things, Julie and the Phantoms, It, I realize that it's not true and now it bothers me. Especially because you grow up thinking that's how you're supposed to look when you are fifteen or sixteen years old! I've noticed directors have started casting younger actors now and it makes me happy they are giving them the chance to represent their age group!
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Post by theprakriti »

Yeah. Twenty plus aged people are being casted for teen movies and they end up looking like college students rather than high school students. Like Noah Centineo In All the Boys I've loved before is so out of the league. He is handsome and all but too older for a high school look.
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Post by Sarah Nichols 7 »

I don’t think it’s an issue if the 23 year old looks like a 16 year old. For example, I am 27 and I’m told all the time that I look between 16-20. If they have the baby face, it works. It does annoy me when the 23 year old who is supposed to be playing a teenager, does not look like a teenager.
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Post by a_r_egerton »

Another related problem is having characters who are supposed to be around the same age played by actors of obviously different ages. For example, the 2007 movie "Ghostrider" cast Nicolas Cage and Eva Mendes as childhood sweethearts -- which suggests their characters should be roughly the same age. Cage was actually 10 years older than Mendes -- and looked it. Oops.
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Post by WADonnelly »

I think it can be really problematic especially for young adults and teenagers that will begin to wonder why they don't look the people representing them on the screen.
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Post by fridamadrid »

Personally, I don't like it.
I used to not care about it but then I realized it made me have weird perceptions on age.
Also, it made my expectations be very unrealistic. And I don't see why they can't just cast people that are between a certain, smaller age range.
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Post by Mwatu »

It would be good if teen roles were acted by teen actors. It would be more realistic that way and I am sure there are good enough actors for the roles.
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