When Grown-Up Actors Played Kids And Teens (And Were Loved By Fans)

There have been various adult actors playing kids in comedy films. Whether it’s thanks to a body swap or absurd casting, the story of a child wishing to be older, enjoying it initially, and then later longing for their youth is a journey always filled with a lot of laughs. More than this, it is an incredible feat for an actor to pull off something like that.

Any actor who is playing a character engaged in a Freaky Friday flip is pulling off a heroic task. These body swaps occur in comedies often, which never really get lauded in the way they should be, but Tom Hanks’s portrayal in Big and Jamie Lee Curtis’s mannerisms of Lindsay Lohan in Freaky Friday are some great displays of the craft.

Jack Black In Jumanji

Jack Black is a wonderful comic and he perfectly mimics the mannerisms of a teenage girl throughout all sequences of the movie. From the very first moment Bethany discovers the body she has inhabited throughout the game, Jack Black ends up nailing it. With each and every “Oh my god” or “Can’t even” that Black delivers, fans perfectly believe they’re watching Bethany.

Tom Hanks In Big

We all are aware of the brilliance of Tom Hanks. In ‘Big’, he delivers one of the best performances of his entire career as a child who is well, stuck in an adult’s body. Tom Hanks’s facial expressions fully sell the movie. When he gets scared of staying in the room alone in a hotel, the viewers totally believe it. When he’s out enjoying playing with his toys and flirting with adult women accidentally, the audience completely buys into the innocence that Tom Hanks brings to the character.

Zachary Levi in Shazam!

Shazam is one of the stranger superheroes in the whole DC Universe. Whenever 14-year-old Billy Batson says the name Shazam, he becomes Superman. Well, almost.

Zachary Levi is absolutely charming playing the role, as he blows up his school textbooks with his newfound lightning powers, something that most DC fans loved.

Jennifer Garner in ’13 Going on 30′

This was something for Ms. Garner. Jennifer Garner was given quite the challenge as she portrayed a 13-year-old adult now possessing the body and life of a 30-year-old. Interesting, isn’t it?

Garner did manage to bring a youthful innocence to the character. As Rink discovers that her whole life has turned out exactly as she had hoped for, Garner’s gleeful reactions make the audience feel like they’re watching a teenager.