Chiselled jaws. Blemish free skin. Taut bodies.

These are the 'teenagers' of Hollywood and it's a far cry from many of our experiences navigating high school.

Casting directors have long been accused of stretching the limits of our imaginations by assigning roles of high schoolers to well-established, full-grown adults, and over the years we've cast a suspicious eye while watching some our favourite teen TV series...

But don't let age get in the way of telling a good story...

Olivia Newton-John,Grease.

Greasewas released in 1978 and became an overnight hit with our golden gal, Olivia Newton-John garnering international acclaim playing the role of sweet high schooler, Sandy. While her character was supposed to be an 18-year-old senior, Newton-John was actually 29 at the time and did a very convincing job of playing a fresh-faced teen.

Stockard Channing,Grease.

Elsewhere in theGreasecast there was an even bigger difference in age between character and actor with Stockard Channing. The gutsy, straight-talking performance of 18-year-old Rizzo came from a place of experience — at that point Channing was 34 years old and a well-seasoned Hollywood actor.

Shay Mitchell,Pretty Little Liars.

When the cameras started rolling on the teen drama seriesPretty Little Liars, Shay Mitchell played the role of Emily, a 16-year-old teenager. Across the seven seasons, the characters inPLLwent searching for clues but it didn't take a detective to figure out why Mitchell didn't exactly look like your average teenager — she was 30 at the time.

Bianca Lawson,Pretty Little Liars.

AnotherPretty Little Liarscast member who did a great job of making us believe she was a legitimate teen playing a teen was Biance Lawson, who stepped into the role of Maya St. Germain. In the script she's a 16-year-old high schooler but IRL Lawson was 31 years old while filming.

Henry Winkler,Happy Days.

Even if you weren't born whenHappy Daysfirst broadcast in the '70s, chances are you caught re-runs on the telly after school. For some reason, the character of Fonzie seems to be universally known regardless of which generation you grew up in. The iconic high schooler was played by Henry Winkler, who was actually 29 at the time — maybe the five-o-clock shadow should have given it away?

Keiko Agena,Gilmore Girls.

Keiko Agena played the girl-next-door's best friend, Lane Kim, in the smash hit TV seriesGilmore Girls. The sweet and studious daughter of immigrant parents was a 16-year-old high school student, but in reality Agena was 27 when she filmed the series.

The entire cast (almost), Friday Night Lights.

Ross Butler,13Reasons Why.

How do you get an audience to believe a character is a buff, high school jock? Cast a 27-year-old as a 16-year-old of course! Actor Ross Butler was well into his 20s when he playing the role of Zach Dempsey in the Netflix teen drama series,13 Reasons Why.

Shirley Henderson,Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.

Look, we get it — some people just have a baby face that allows them to portray characters much young than their biological years. But we might need to look into what sorcery is going on with Shirley Henderson's genes because she convincingly played the role of (ghost) 14-year-old high schooler Moaning Myrtle in theHarry Pottermovies when she was 36. Some witchcraft at play, indeed.

Gabrielle Carteris,Beverly Hills 90210.

We're not sure if it was the exclusively librarian wardrobe or the mum-of-two haircut but we probably all had an inkling that actor Gabrielle Carteris wasn't really 16 during the filming ofBeverly Hills 90210. Playing the iconic role of Andrea Suzkerman, Carteris was actually 29.

Cole Sprouse,Riverdale.

Having been in the industry since he was a youngster, Cole Sprouse probably knows a thing or two about how Hollywood works. When he stepped into the role of Jughead Jones on the Netflix seriesRiverdale, Sprouse very convincingly looked like a 16-year-old despite being 24. However, when the show ended in 2023, he was 30 years old and probably very ready to stop cosplaying as a teenager.

Gabrielle Union,Bring It On.

If you stay closely tuned to Gabrille Union's social media accounts, you would be well aware that at 51 years old, she could probably still play a high schooler today. Which is most likely why, whenBring It Onwas released 24 years ago, we had no issue in believing the then-28-year-old was high-school cheerleader Isis.

Paul Wesley and Ian Somerhalder,The Vampire Diaries.

Alright, now this one is going to be a little trickier to wrap your head around. In the seriesThe Vampire Diaries,we were to believe that actors Paul Wesley and Ian Somerhalder were 17-year-old high schoolers, when IRL they were 27 and 31, respectively. However, you could argue that their characters, Stefan and Damon, were actually 171- and 178-year-old vampires so technically, they weren't acting down.

Rachel McAdams,Mean Girls.

You can see why Regina George was idolised at North Shore High — she wasn't your run-of-the-mill teenager. Chiefly because she was played by then-27-year-old actress Rachel McAdams in the smash hit movie Mean Girls. She was perfectly cast but ya know, a reminder that nothing in Hollywood is real.

Stacey Dash,Clueless.

Playing a ditzy high schooler still trying to figure out their place in the world is no easy feat. Especially when you you're actually 27, as Stacey Dash was when she stepped into the immaculately styled shoes of Dionne inClueless.

Jason Earles,Hannah Montana.

Yep, 29-year-old Jason Earles was cast as the 17-year-old brother of Hannah Montana on the Disney series of the same name. Those cargo pants and floppy fringe weren't fooling anyone.

Selma Blair,Cruel Intentions.