Actors Too Old For College



1 / 10 Chevron Chevron Robert Carradine (30), Revenge of the Nerds Here’s a doozy: Robert Carradine was 30 when he first starred as super-geek college freshman Lewis Skolnick in the 1984 comedy classic, even though his sidekick, Gilbert Lowell, was played by Anthony Edwards, who turned 22 the day before the film opened. The film skewed surprisingly older as a whole—Timothy Busfield was 27, Curtis Armstrong was 30, and Ted McGinley was 26 when they filmed. Were there no available teen actors in the 80s or what?

Age may be nothing but a number, but when it comes time to cast the stars of films about teens and their collegiate exploits and hijinks, is it possible that Hollywood could pick, well, a slightly lower number? Films about both high-school students and college kids have leaned toward stars a bit too old for Freshman Lit, and this perennial trend doesn’t seem to be going anywhere but up.

We’re not talking purposely older players, like Adam Sandler in The Waterboy, Rodney Dangerfield in Back to School, or even the Old School trio (no, they didn’t go back to actual college, but they sure tried to live that life), but stars who we’re meant to believe are still in their teens, and heading out to live on their own for the very first time. This week’s new release, 22 Jump Street, lovingly pokes fun at the age of its obviously not-college-aged-at-all stars, but it’s just the tip of the “too old for this stuff” iceberg.

Honorable Mentions: Jim Sturgess in 21 (he was actually 30), Tobey Maguire in Wonder Boys (he was a still-plucky 25), Ryan Reynolds in Van Wilder (at 26, his age was almost believable for the perennial slacker), and Selma Blair in Legally Blonde (her character may have entered law school fresh out of college, but the actress was 29 when the film came out).