20 of Our Favorite Teen Roles Played by Full-On Adults

May 29, 2021

Ben Platt (L), Gabrielle Union (C) and Chase Stokes (R) are just a few of the stars who played teens way past when they were that age. | Photo Credits: Angela Weiss/Getty Images, Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Piaget and Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic

Ross Butler as Zach Dempsey in “13 Reasons Why” (2017-2020)

Ross Butler starred as a teen in his late 20s on both “13 Reasons Why” and “Riverdale.” | Photo Credit: Beth Dubber/Netflix

If there was one great year for Ross Butler, it was 2017. He landed the recurring role of Reggie Mantle on Riverdale (which was recast with Charles Melton when Butler left the show) and the main role of Zach Dempsey in 13 Reasons Why. Both roles had him somewhere between 16 and 17 years old, but Butler was about a decade older than that at age 27.

Author

Kevin Studer

Kevin (he/him) is a two-time graduate of Lynn University and has a Creative Writing Master's from American College Dublin. When not writing about pop culture, he is constantly opening his worldview by consuming different types of media and traveling around the globe.

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Kevin Studer

Kevin (he/him) is a two-time graduate of Lynn University and has a Creative Writing Master's from American College Dublin. When not writing about pop culture, he is constantly opening his worldview by consuming different types of media and traveling…