“You haven’t known the triumphs and defeats, the epic highs and lows of high school football,” said Archie Andrews, played by KJ Apa, in the show teen drama “Riverdale.” Despite being 23 years old, Apa is passed off as a high schooler.
Actors who are in their early to late 20s are regularly cast as teenagers — a clear indication of society’s commodification of age.
Another prime example is Noah Centineo, a well-known actor who starred in Netflix original movies such as the “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before” series. Though he is in his 20s, he consistently plays high-school-aged characters.
“Riverdale” and its infamous one-liners — such as Archie’s line earlier — in particular are a study in actors who are in their early 20s playing characters in their mid-to-late teens. A vast majority of the cast members were born in 1997 or earlier, meaning most of them were at least 19 years old at the start of the series.
“Riverdale,” plot-wise, is also more complex than a normal high school TV show. Though all the characters are high schoolers, they deal with serious adult problems throughout the episodes.
For example, the only reason Archie describes the “epic highs and lows” is because he was framed for murder by his girlfriend’s dad and was organizing a prison football game — not exactly a problem that an average high school student would face.
Another example is the “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina,” a show that is even in the same cinematic universe as “Riverdale” and takes place one town over. The show revolves around Sabrina, a 16-year-old witch played by Kiernan Shipka.
Age is a complex factor in this show because Shipka’s character ends up becoming Queen of literal Hell at the age of 16. Even though this show is far better than “Riverdale,” it deals with the same trope: by the end of the show, Shipka was 21 playing a 16-year-old.
In addition, the characters of these shows are typically sexualized and deal with mature themes. I think one possible reason that these characters are played by older actors is that younger actors may not feel comfortable playing such overtly sexual characters.
In that case, having older actors is not only acceptable, but also necessary. Furthermore, Centineo, Apa and Shipka all look about the age of a high school upperclassman. People can certainly look younger than they actually are. The memes of Paul Rudd never really aging or Keanu Reeves being immortal are prime examples of how aging varies from person to person.
Under the right circumstances, and especially in productions that are more mature and explicit, having a hard age cut-off for actors playing these roles does make sense. So if an actor can get a role playing a high-schooler and make it look real, I believe they should be given those opportunities.
However, paired with the consistent overage representation, it could adversely impact the beauty and behavioral expectations for young teens watching.
Therefore, in other situations and more family-friendly shows, casting directors should actively work to cast actors who are representative of the age they portray on screen.
Otherwise, it can get a bit weird — this is especially true in cases such as Netflix’s romantic comedies with Centineo, who is six to seven years older than the characters he plays, and it can be noticeable.
Looks are powerful. The entertainment industry is already a cesspool for ageist ideals and the glorification of youth. As such, if you are able to look and believably play a younger age, you may land more work or more mainstream, well-paid roles.
Take Netflix, where the shows and movies I’ve discussed have been released. Netflix is worth upwards of $200 billion. Often, shows and movies about the high school experience shoot to the top of Netflix’s charts — the recent third installment of the “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before” saga was the top movie on the platform after its release.
The perceived age of an actor or actress is important, not just for the viewer’s entertainment but for the overall success of a TV show or movie. Fundamentally, age is not just a number — it’s a commodity. The younger you look, the more likely you are to be successful in Hollywood.
